I have read so many articles, comments on pictures I've posted, and blog posts about enjoying every moment as a mom. News flash...I don't and I never will.
Think about your job, your life and all the stressful things that come with it, and relationships in your life. Not every single one of those moments are enjoyable. But, I think in the moments that aren't enjoyable, they teach us lessons. Those days I didn't enjoy teaching, I would redo the lesson plan I had made. The days unexpected bills come in the mail, God provides somehow where we least expect it. The days we get a bad medical report about one of our kids, the right Doctor comes along to answer our questions and to help. In relationships, if we deal with hurt feelings, painful conversations, or just not knowing how to help a friend in need, these are opportunities to grow who I am as a person and for me to dive deeper into prayer because God knows.
So as a mom, I will not be able to enjoy every moment. Are there enjoyable moments? Yes there are and lots of them! I enjoy my children so much and enjoy watching them grow into the people I know God created them to be. They are all so uniquely and wonderfully made. There are so many moments of laughter, story telling, playing, tickling, dancing, hugging, kissing, snuggling, and coloring. There are those moments we help Reece learn how to walk and cheer him on, cheer on Owen and Brady at their sports games, encourage Owen while he's reading, help Brady learn how to ride a bike, and so much more.
But...there are moments of defiant no's, screaming baby, fits because someone touched someone else's toy, bad moods, and bad attitudes. There are days I feel pulled in every direction and don't know whose need to meet first and don't want the child I get to last to feel like they're any less important. There are days I am counting down the minutes until daddy comes home so I can get 5 minutes to get away from it all and take a breath. There are days where I feel like I've yelled too much, haven't interacted with the kids enough, or have been in a bad mood.
God is teaching me that these "terrible horrible no good very bad days" will come, but my mood doesn't have to follow suit. So before I speak, I take a minute to really think about what I'm going to say. Before I yell, I think about how I feel when I'm yelled at. Before I react, I make sure I'm calm enough to handle the situation at hand. When days get stressful, we turn on worship music, I pray, and I speak scripture over the situation.
God is all knowing. He does not want us doing this motherhood gig alone. I feel like He wants us to reach out to Him, tell Him what we need, and He will be there to give us the peace we need in the chaos. I also feel like God calls us to live in community with other moms. Whether it is a Bible study, reaching out to go to coffee, serving together, or even online studies, there are so many moms who want to connect just like you do.
So moms that don't have it all together, it's ok. The good news is, no one does. What you see on social media is just 1/10000 of that mommas day you are seeing. Do not listen to the voices from
those around you who only see a snippet of your day or the voices in your head. Stop comparing yourself to other moms. Stop thinking you are not good enough. Stop thinking that you do not have it all together and never will. God created you to be exactly the mom that your kids need and He makes no mistakes. So go ahead and not enjoy every moment and I'll be doing that right along with you. Let it be opportunities for God to grow you into the momma He wants you to be. Let these hard moments be teachable moments.
