mother’s day post

Mom, you do it all and it’s amazing

It’s 6:30 a.m. and your feet hit the floor. You grab your favorite teal Yeti cup and hit the button on your Keurig. As the coffee pours out, you’re praying for extra grace and strength to face the day.

Meanwhile, one child has lost their socks and the other is screaming and yelling at her brother for touching her.

You sign school planners and field trip permission slips while pouring bowls of sugary cereal you didn’t want your husband to buy.

Finally, you pour that cream in your coffee and take a bite of the over-cooked eggs you were trying to make for yourself.

Next, you nurse the baby while simultaneously telling everyone what to do including your husband about his board meeting in 30 minutes.

You return back to your coffee and now it’s lukewarm so you heat it up in the microwave for 30 seconds. You kiss your husband goodbye and wish him a better day than how yours is starting out.

While your coffee’s heating up, one child’s begging to wear her favorite rainbow unicorn outfit but it’s stinky and dirty so you throw it in the washer on Quick Wash cycle (best mom hack ever) hoping it will be dried in time for school.

Time keeps slipping away and it’s now 7:55 a.m. Your kids can’t be tardy. You juggle everyone out the door regardless of mismatched socks and uncombed hair – praying no one’s missing anything and they’re on time.

You help them work through their emotions and feelings of, “Mom, I don’t want to go to school!” And remind them, “Not going to school is not an option. Stop whining and complaining.”

You’re at the carpool drop-off line. Your kids are moving like snails out of the van. You tell them goodbye with a quick hug and kiss and a huge sigh of Thank you, Lord Jesus.

You drive home, pull in the driveway, and your phone rings. The kids’ elementary school pops up on caller ID. You roll your eyes.

“Mom, I forgot my lunch,” are the words on the other end of the line. You’re annoyed.

You walk in the door and sure enough, it’s sitting on the cluttered countertop. So you get back in the van and drive it to him reluctantly wondering if you’re spoiling him too much.

The van is finally quiet. The baby’s asleep in the car seat. No little voices are saying, “Mom! Mom! Mom!” It’s a taste of heaven.

Since your coffee’s still sitting in the microwave at home, you dart for the coffee shop drive-thru and order a VENTI iced white chocolate mocha (since you’re hot and sweaty) and an apple cinnamon scone – hoping your husband doesn’t text that you’re overspending the budget.

You pull in the driveway for the second time, but you stay put so you don’t wake up the baby. You sip your coffee and scroll social media newsfeeds in delightful solitude. You text your husband a few emoji kisses and how much you appreciate his hard work, too.

Oh, Momma, you really do it all, and it’s amazing. I know some days you think you don’t do anything (especially when people ask you all the time what you do all day?), but in reality, you’re doing everything.

You’re putting your family’s needs above your own. You’re sacrificing big time. Why?

Because of love. 

Sure, you’re not perfect. You yell sometimes, you’re impatient, you fall short, you struggle with control, you have wavering emotions and hormones, you’re majorly sleep deprived and sometimes crazy, you need mom friends who get you, and more…

But you’re still amazing.

I know tomorrow, you’ll be doing the same thing all over again when your feet hit the floor and you’ll most likely face more unexpected challenges. So, please, please, don’t forget:

You are seen. 

You are known. 

You are valued. 

You are loved. 

You are MOM.

Samantha Krieger is a pastor’s wife and mom to 4. She is the author of  Quiet Time: A 30-day Devotional Retreat for Moms in the Trenches. Her writing appears regularly on Her View From Home, TODAY Parenting, and For the Family. Connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.

 

 

 

 

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A Mother’s Sweet Sacrifice

My mom holding my son Will - 2 days old

Mom holding my son Will – 2 days old

One day in middle school, I came home feeling hurt by a friend. I don’t remember the details but there were tears. Before bed I talked to my mom about the situation. Just like every night, she stood beside my bed and tucked me inside the covers. She suggested we pray about it. Tender, wisdom-filled words sprang from her heart. Her presence calmed my frustrations and pain.

As I think about Mother’s Day this weekend and all that my my mom means to me, one of her greatest gifts has been prayer. And now that I’ve been a mother for almost six years, I’m just scratching the surface of how sacrificial the role of a mother really is.

In motherhood, you rarely receive accolades and praise. You may receive words of encouragement occasionally but in the daily grind of cleaning messes, dirty dishes, staying on top of schoolwork, and tackling piles of laundry you just don’t hear affirmation. I’ll be honest, at times my flesh craves the hand claps and pats on the back.

You sacrifice your time, energy, and whole life as you tend to the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of your children. You give of yourself while you nurse a nasty nose, bandage cuts, wipe dirty bottoms, manage major meltdowns and fits, discipline unruly behavior, shepherd wayward hearts, prepare meals, clean up meals and do it all over again the next day.

Sometimes you have to say “no” to good things and outings or shaving your legs and looking pretty so you can just meet the basic needs of your children. And when you’re not expending physical energy, you’re exerting yourself emotionally as you pray for their safety and choices.

quotescover-JPG-51This sacrifice involves both joy and pain because motherhood is a daily dying to your self- giving up your life for the sake of another. Putting your child’s needs before your own. Loving him or her more than you love yourself.

We know this from Jesus, our perfect example of selflesssness:

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” – Phil 2:3

“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” – Matt. 10:39

In this sacrifice you’ll often feel like you’re spinning your wheels. You won’t see fruit. You’ll be exhausted and want to throw in the towel. You won’t think you’re making a difference. You’ll feel guilty when you mess up. You’ll worry you’re not doing it right. You’ll get sick and tired of correcting and disciplining defiant behavior. You’ll pray “God, help me,” feeling like a broken record.

And then out of the blue a day will come when you watch your son’s compassion and love as he befriends an adult with special needs at a school picnic and asks to eat his hotdog with her. When your daughter scrubs her skin with soap in the bathtub, happily singing a church song about how Jesus washes our sins away with “super soap” and her words convict and touch you deeply. When you ask your son if he wants to ask Jesus to live in his heart and he replies, “Mom… I’ve always believed.”

When there are moments of harmony in your home and it’s a glimpse of heaven.

And the taste of your sacrifice is nothing but sweet. And you thank God for all the gifts, joys, and blessings of being a mother and for the ability to invest in the life of your child. You thank God that he uses you in the midst of your imperfections.

quotescover-JPG-91Remember Momma… Stuff is happening in your sacrifice. Stuff you may see now. Stuff you might not see until years to come. Stuff you may not get to see here on earth.

Don’t lose sight that the around-the-clock, demanding work you’re doing will reap dividends as you stay faithful to Christ and your family. Even if no one is praising you, God sees your work as worthy. 

After that night my mom prayed with me, I slept soundly. I went to school the next day and the conflict was resolved. I was relieved and felt at peace again. God answered our prayers. I look back on that evening as just one of the many examples of my mom’s constant love, care, concern, and sacrifice throughout my whole life as her child. Her sacrificial love is forever imprinted on my heart.

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