The Mess of Motherhood

“Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in Your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

Psalm 139:16

Mother’s Day is such a sweet sentiment with all the flowers, cards, and sermons. Under the layers of tissue paper, however, there is often an ever so subtle feeling of sadness, followed by an internal dialogue of all the ways we moms are not good enough and how much better our children deserve than messy us. In those moments, when the attacks are rampant, a parent can wrestle with some of the greatest lies of all.

Parenting is day-in and day-out dirty work, and there are many Christian moms who feel completely ill-equipped for the task at hand. But moms (and dads) aren’t isolated in their feelings, and there is good news—news we need to write on our hearts or maybe even the bathroom mirror: We serve a perfect Creator who loves us immensely, pursues us passionately, and forgives us completely. So on those days when you feel your children (or you) are beyond repair, look at this list and journey on in pursuit of your children and—more importantly—Jesus.

  • There is no perfect mom (Romans 3:10). You are not perfect. Your mother was not perfect, and it’s time to get over the thought you will ever be perfect.
  • There is no perfect childhood. Your childhood (even those less than stellar parts you’ve managed to forget) was not perfect, and that of your own children will not be perfect, either. It’s okay! No matter what happened or will happen, God is sovereign. We are the clay; He is the potter, fashioning us into works of art (Isiah 64:8).
  • You are enough (Ephesians 2:10). Yes, you! God chose to give you the specific children in your home and knows you are exactly who they need as a mother. If someone else would be better suited for their personalities, He would have given them to that person. Remember to give yourself grace as you tarry on during your days.
  • Accept God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:9). It’s often easy to ask your family to forgive you, but it’s not always easy to accept forgiveness in return. You, however, are FREE in Christ (Romans 8) and you need to embrace that freedom in your parenting.

We live in a broken world filled with broken people, broken dreams, and a blistering enemy who wants us to focus on our faults, flaws, and failures. But God wants us to focus on who He is and trust that our many hiccups are part of a grander plan that He is orchestrating. We cannot be all things to all people, but we can trust God to help us in our weakness. God has given every parent such an abundance. I am personally beyond grateful that God allows me the opportunity to experience three truly magnificent and undeserved blessings; I know you feel the same about your children. It is often because we recognize the magnitude of our blessings that we also recognize the depths of our failures. When we are weak, however, He is strong, and He will meet all our needs (Philippians 4:18-19).

You are a woman. You are a mother. You are His child. Because of that last one, you are blessed! While raising your children, never forget that you are a child of the One True King who loves you immensely. Where you see only the thorns, he sees roses and wants you to release the fragrant offering of a redeemed life—even though it’s not a perfect one.

In His Love,

Gabbie

1 Comment

  1. Mahala
    October 25, 2016

    There’s a terrific amount of knedgowle in this article!

Comments are closed.

Scroll to top