Be the Mother YOU Were Called to Be

“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

     Never compare your journey through motherhood to anyone else’s. God chose you, specifically, to be your child’s parent. To me, that means He saw something special in you. Something you have, something you do, the contents of your character, or a lesson you need to learn are, in my opinion, big factors in the reason you’re given the children you have.

    There are times I look at other moms and think they have it all together. I begin to change the way I parent to match this “perfect” mom. When I undoubtedly fail, it is then I realize the uniqueness in myself and the unique needs of my children.

  I am called to be the best version of MYSELF; not the mother in the grocery store with quiet children, or the mother who seems to have a perfect handle on her daughter’s hair, or even the mother whose one year old is already successfully potty trained. These are all superficial things anyway, and I have to remind myself that these things will come in time.

    Being a great mom doesn’t mean I have to be a perfect mom.

   Yes, I take my kids to the library, to festivals, and to the beach. I take my kids to the grocery store and I talk to them about the food we eat and how to cook it; I talk to my kids about God and who we are in relation to Him; I read to my kids, I sing silly songs to help them learn numbers, alphabets, and their body parts. I come up with phrases that have become personal mantras, in the hopes that my children will grow up and hear my voice in their heads saying, “Everything that has a beginning has to have an end,” “I decide,” “I choose happiness,” “We don’t fight our sister: we fight FOR our sister.” I do all of these things with my babies, but the most important thing I do is be present. I listen to Rose when she’s singing incessantly (and annoyingly, I mean beautifully lol) at 6am. and I encourage her. I hold Addi like a posey vest when she’s having night terrors. I know to have my arms open and ready for a hug before Rose is terrified of the spirits in “The Princess and the Frog.” I’m just being myself. I’m just being THEIR mom. In turn, when Addi holds her “babies”, pats them on the back, and tucks them into bed I am honored that she is mirroring ME. Not a made up version of me, but my authentic self.

    Your children don’t need you to be Ms. Susie down the block. They need you to be you, so celebrate your unique way of parenting. There’s no one size fits all.

Be encouraged!