To That Mom

To that mom in the grocery store with baby triplets, I recognize that face.  It's that familiar look, the one of feeling overwhelmed and desperate to survive another day without crying.  I know not every day feels this hard, but too many do.  Whether it's a "teaching moment" or your attempt to control the rage/disbelief that your kid really just did that one really obnoxious thing.  It's tiresome to do the day in and day out, just to question if it will one day resignate.  And though we get a very sweet "thank you" once a year (thanks to their teachers), those thank yous never seem to come after we took one more measure to ensure that our kids don't turn into jerks.  For every middle-of-the-night wakeup, waiting out the emergency room while on vacation, staying up late to help them finish that assignment, staying calm when they defiantly disobey you, helping them color when you have 99 other things to do, and every time you question yourself when it all seems to fly out the window because now you're fighting hormones; thank you, you're rockin' it!  While you may see yourself as an imperfect momma working tirelessly to shape you’re children, I see an army of moms shaping the future.  And. It. Will. Pay. Off.  As I read Girl Talk by Carolyn Mahaney & Nicole Mahaney Whitacre, I think they do a fabulous job of illustrating just what kind of role we as moms serve:

"Two hundred years ago John Angell James, in his book titled Female Piety, reported on the effect of a mother's example in his day:

     At a pastoral conference, held not long since, at which about one hundred and twenty American clergymen, united in the bonds of a common faith, were assembled, each was invited to state the human instrumentality to which, under the Divine blessing, he attributed a change of heart.  How many of these, think you, gave the honour of it to their mother?  Of one hundred and twenty, above one hundred!  Here then are facts, which are only selected from myriads of others, to prove a mother's power, and to demonstrate at the same time her responsibility.

Now if the thought of this grave responsibility to be a godly example enervates your soul, you are not alone.  When we compare our shortcomings to our hopes for a daughter's [and son's] character, the disparity is often conspicuous.  If you are like me, you are painfully aware of your imperfection.  But this is good, for it brings us back to the cross."

You and I, friend, will never have this role perfected...and it's okay!  As a mom, I find that I am constantly reminded of my shortcomings, and love what Carolyn and Nicole share in this text:  Christ made the ultimate sacrifice as payment of our sin, and just as we are in constant need of Him, so will our kids.  Let's be moms that point our kids to Christ.  Just as we're teaching them, we too are learning, and our goal should never be to be the ultimate authority, but be mothers who are subject to the ultimate authority. 

I know you're working tirelessly to teach your kids patience, kindness, sacrifice, honesty, self-discipline and love to the next generation while you're still learning to master these things.  Keep it up!  You're shaping the future, one kid at a time. 

XO,

Jackie E

Mahaney, Carolyn, and Nicole Mahane Whitacre. Girl Talk. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2005.

blog post edited August 17, 2017