Not your typical blog post.
I’m not sharing 100 ways to gain more family time or how you can make the most out of every moment with these simple tricks.
I don’t have a step-by-step guide to make your next family vacation a breeze or a list of how-to’s to get your kids to be more content. (Although, these are really pretty good ideas and I should consider writing them. lol)
But that’s not what you need to read today.
I hear you, mama.
You’re searching.
You’re searching for ways to be more productive, to live simply, to make the most of every opportunity.
You’ve been reading blog posts, scouring Pinterest, skimming through article after article. You’re looking for someone to help you with this whole doing life thing.
Or maybe you’re not looking, but everyone seems to post about it. You click on articles because someone shared it, and now, all of a sudden, you’re feeling less than put together because you think you should be doing better. And here you didn’t even know you were doing so many things wrong, but now you’re concerned that you are!
“Everyone else seems to have it all together….. there must be something that I’m missing and if I could just find it, everything would CLICK!”
The more you read, the more confused you get.
Should I take electronics away from my kids so they learn to enjoy other things in life?
Are electronics a great way for me to get a little break from time to time?
Do I bring them home little gifts to remind them how much they are loved?
Do I never bring home anything, so they learn to be more grateful?
Does a clean home help them feel more secure? Or should I let the house go so I can totally focus on my kids?
“Please remove your shoes, my house is so clean, we eat off the floor.”
“Excuse the mess, my kids are making memories.”
If I fill a jar with marbles that symbolize the moments I have left with my children, will that help me make the most of each day or will it stress me out because I can visually see time slipping away?
Whoa!! <Deep breaths> Like really….. take a few deep breaths.
pause…
pause….
pause…….
You are enough.
No really. You are.
The picture above is of me and my youngest. I see every single imperfection (well, not all of them, I photoshopped a little bald spot I had after having him and I think I got rid of a bra line that was giving me an extra fat roll, anyway. You get the idea.)….. He sees a mom who loves him and he’s in love with me.
You’re not going to mess your kids up. Well, maybe you will. What do I know? But you’ll be less likely to if you stop focusing so much on ways to be perfect.
The fact that you’re searching for ways to make the most of your time with them already shows that you are an amazing mom! You care.
And that’s it….. in a nutshell.
You care.
You are enough.
Do what you need to do to survive and you’ll find that you will thrive. Don’t try to perfect or change anything just so that you fit an unrealistic mold.
If you function better in a clean home, clean it. If you feel you spend your entire day cleaning and have regrets that you’re missing out, back off and find a different approach.
There’s nobody out there that has it all together. Adding more to your list of things to do or worry about because some article relayed to you that you aren’t enough is the last thing that you NEED to do.
Just be You.
Put down the article, phone, tablet- whatever it is that you’re using to research how to be a better you and JUST BE YOU.
If I learned anything from my time at the orphanage in Africa, it’s that being a mom who is present in any capacity is better than not having a mom at all.
So, stop with all the guilt trips that you are putting on yourself and start seeing yourself the way your kids do.
You’re pretty perfectly designed just for them!
You are not meant to be any other person than YOU, “flaws” and all.
God has given you the abilities to care for the exact child/children that He has blessed you with. Only you truly know what’s best. But, thankfully, He doesn’t say we need to do it all alone. He’s more than happy to help us out when we choose to look to Him.
So be THAT mom. The one who cares. And guess what? You already do that.
Other Posts You might like
Bible Journaling: Comparing yourself to others
Why the Church Needs Moms and Moms need the Church
A Guide to Bible Journaling for Beginners
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