May 14, 2017
It was one of those mornings when I was home alone and piddling around the house…sorting laundry, unloading the dishwasher, trying to find a system to organize the one million pieces of paper that had made their way onto the kitchen bar.
I walked into the living room just in time to catch the last minute or so of a maternity fashion segment on a morning show. The mom-to-be I saw on the screen was absolutely radiant. But as my eyes focused on the TV, this woman who looked completely together, began to sway as her knees buckled. Within seconds, she fell, albeit gracefully, to her knees as the show’s hostess tried to help before the entire segment broke to a commercial.
Upon the return of the show, the hostess reassured me and the rest of the stunned audience that mom-to-be was fine as she patted her now-seated back. As a TV pro, she then cleverly wrapped it all with a comment about how the incident clearly models being a mom, “You have no control! Welcome to motherhood!”
Preaching it on a Friday morning! I quietly testified to her “out of control” statement as I looked at my living room, scattered with football cards, leftover Easter baskets, crumpled socks, and a gigantic toy airplane that doesn’t seem to fit on any shelf.
Messes are minor chaos that make me want to pull out my hair, but that’s not what brings me to my knees. It’s the times when I do feel out of control about motherhood that I fall before Him. Times when I fret. Times when I question. Times when I fall short. Times when I just have to wonder how this whole thing is going to turn out.
“Lord, show me. Please show me some fruit of my labor.” I’ve begged the Lord to show me that the mothering is worth it. That one day they will remember the lessons that I’ve uttered and repeated. And the values that I’m striving to model. That I’m not completely ruining my kids’ lives when I lose my temper. That they won’t fulfill every. single. one. of the fears the world throws at mamas. That an imperfect mom can point to a perfect Savior.
So this Mother’s Day weekend, can we relax? Okay, not too much relaxing. Someone has to wash the breakfast-in-bed dishes and wipe up the marker smudges from the homemade cards. But can we rest? Rest even though we may not exactly deserve that “Best Mom Ever” label we’ll receive, but in knowing that we are the handpicked mamas for these kids we’re raising.
And whether we find ourselves in a good stride, radiating joy or on our knees wiping up milk and pleading with the Lord for help, He’s there with us. Patting us on the back and reassuring us that we’re going to be okay.