Dear mom friends, I can't recommend this book highly enough to you. I stumbled upon this book through another mom friend, and all I can say is WOW. This mom isn't like the other cheezy, well-intended moms who seek out to write a series of devotionals to motivate and encourage you. Not that I'm saying all other "mom devotionals" are bad, I've just started and not finished a few due to the fact that I felt absolutely no connection to what the author was saying. This one however, hits the nail on the head. As someone who is constantly seeking out other inspirational moms to pull strength from, I can wholeheartedly say that her words always seem to be exactly what I'm needing to hear. She is hilarious, candid, and abruptly honest about our struggles and joys as moms. And of course weaving in scripture and how God wants to be a part of this chaos of motherhood while gently guiding us through it. It is not "preachy." It is not unrelatable. It is not long and drawn out. In short, it's a bit of pure delight each day. Literally every passage I read I want to photocopy and share with every mom I know to motivate and encourage them. As a bonus, I found it on Amazon for a whopping $2.00! No excuses, ladies.
For now, I'll share with you a particularly great excerpt from the one I read this morning:
"When I became a mom, 'servanthood' took on a whole new meaning. In our family, we decided I would be the one to change my daily life and stay at home with the babies. But when I took that as my identity, I developed a sense of entitlement and did a lot of waiting around for credit. I held the emotional position that I was doing everyone a favor. This top-down perspective tainted everything, because if I wasn't perfectly appreciated, adequately recognized, or verbally praised (and what mom is?), then I became the wounded martyr who was always disgruntled.
Jesus transformed my idea of "being the greatest." It's not about receiving credit or being popular. It has nothing to do with position or power or getting our just due. Greatness does not come from recognition or the praises of others. True greatness comes to us through the back door of servanthood."
Ouch. The word "disgruntled" unfortunately describes my attitude a lot of days.
And one more to leave you with:
"Motherhood is like a pitcher with a hole in the bottom: a constant drain on our energy, patience, and tolerance. Every mom who is telling the truth would attest to that. Add something like a child with autism, single motherhood, a financial crisis, or a crumbling marriage, and it's a wonder we have anything left to give."
If that isn't truthful, I don't know what is. She goes on to talk about how important it is for moms (and really everyone in general) to have a well of strength and goodness to draw from throughout our days. And when our well is dry, our actions reflect it (screaming at our children, losing patience at the drop of a hat...you know, those experiences I have on a near daily basis?)
So please, please get your hands on this if you're needing to hear her wonderful words as much as me.
xoxo
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