Being a mom is hard.
I knew a lot about babies before Mary was born.
I have seven younger siblings, I worked as a nanny for years,
and have spent countless hours babysitting throughout my lifetime.
I had pretty realistic expectations going into this.
So the sleepless nights, and the endless demand on my time and my body were no surprise to me.
What was surprising to me was that I am not as strong or as tough as I thought.
Being a mom is hard.
Not sleeping is hard.
Breastfeeding is hard.
Learning to live with your post-baby body is hard.
Trying to get everything done is hard.
Pretending that you've got it all together is hard.
But you know what?
Being a mom is beautiful.
Quiet stillness in the middle of the night when you are soothing your child back to sleep is beautiful.
The special bond of nursing your baby is beautiful.
Learning to reject the world's standard of beauty and
learning to accept the amazing things your body has done is beautiful.
learning to accept the amazing things your body has done is beautiful.
Sometimes, choosing to give your little one a little extra time and letting the laundry and dishes pile
up just for a little while is beautiful.
And sometimes in accepting that you don't have it all together you learn that Christ is beautiful.
This time is far too short. Already I regret the times I haven't cherished each moment enough.
Being a mom is beautiful.
It makes me more beautiful:
It forces me to be selfless.
It forces me to be humble; when my daughter fusses endlessly through Sunday's sermon.
It forces me to let things go occasionally; I tend to stress when the house isn't clean, the laundry and dishes aren't done, dinner isn't ready, or whatever. Of course those things are my responsibility to keep up, but the earth keeps turning if the dishes don't get done one day.
It makes me evaluate myself; our children are our mirrors. Little reflections of our strengths and flaws. That terrifies me.
Yes, being a mom is hard.
But it is more than worth it.
It is a high and lovely calling.
So if you are a new mom, be encouraged. What are you struggling with most?
If you are a much wiser and more experienced mom,
please feel free to offer us your words of wisdom!
Leave your comments below.
Thank you for reading!!
This time is far too short. Already I regret the times I haven't cherished each moment enough.
Being a mom is beautiful.
It makes me more beautiful:
It forces me to be selfless.
It forces me to be humble; when my daughter fusses endlessly through Sunday's sermon.
It forces me to let things go occasionally; I tend to stress when the house isn't clean, the laundry and dishes aren't done, dinner isn't ready, or whatever. Of course those things are my responsibility to keep up, but the earth keeps turning if the dishes don't get done one day.
It makes me evaluate myself; our children are our mirrors. Little reflections of our strengths and flaws. That terrifies me.
Yes, being a mom is hard.
But it is more than worth it.
It is a high and lovely calling.
So if you are a new mom, be encouraged. What are you struggling with most?
If you are a much wiser and more experienced mom,
please feel free to offer us your words of wisdom!
Leave your comments below.
Thank you for reading!!
Beautifully written and completely accurate.
ReplyDeleteMy husband once told me when I was struggling with the exact feelings you are that " this is not just a house its our home and it doesn't have to be perfect, this is where we are growing our family and making memories" Rest in that. God has blessed your family and resting in His hand and relishing this beautiful time of life is a blessing.
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ReplyDeleteJust needed an edit, so re-typed. =)
DeleteMost everything I know that is actually worthwhile is not easy. We live in a culture that values ease and has an impossible standard for beauty. Viewing things through the lens of Scripture, rather than the distorted messages of our culture, fosters joy. Sacrifice is holy, and true beauty flows from a gentle and quiet spirit. You exemplify these things.
ReplyDeleteOMG you said it so gracefully. Keep baby journals and date pictures. My daughter is 32 and I didn't have "time" to do it when she was younger and I regret it some much.
ReplyDeleteMy baby is three weeks now (and I have an adult son, too), and I couldn't agree more. I need to remind myself of the top priorities of this stage of my baby's life - the top priority is NOT deep-cleaning the underwear drawers. It's making time to nurture the baby. This is NOW, and this is now time is most wisely spent NOW. Other stages of life will come and there will be time to deep-clean the underwear drawers! :-)
ReplyDeleteBeing a new mommy is hard. I had no clue what I was in for. I look back and wish I had understood that it would get a whole lot easier in 5 years... Lol
ReplyDelete