SuperMom!

Have any of you other mommies ever started a morning with a great plan to be a super mommy? I have. My self-talk goes a little like this...

"We're going to have such a fun day. I'll be empathetic with their little feelings, I'll get down on their level to deal with any issues and speak to them in a very kind voice. I'll spend my free moments giving them attention and play time instead of doing house work...etc." I get all pumped up thinking about what wonderful things are possible in the realm of being a stay at home mom.

Then reality hits. :) Pumping takes 45 minutes instead of 30 because L wouldn't nurse and a duct is plugged. Matt has an early meeting, so I don't have time to shower...S is ignoring my requests. A is telling me the way I should pour the milk. My response to all of this? Certainly not my super mom plan. I go to bed that night feeling more like the villian than the super hero. Maybe tomorrow I think. Tomorrow I will do better.

Only tomorrow morning is the same. Each day I have grand plans for the day. Some days I respond according to my super hero goal, but more often I respond poorly. I have gone to the Lord many times with this frustration. "Why can't I be better to them? I want so badly to be a great mommy, why do I fail so often?"

This is what I hear from Him during my listening times:

Relax child. Rest in my love.

You want me to fix YOU. I will not fix you so you can be a "great mom" and feel good about your performance. I will show you how much you need ME. I will not fix your "flesh," but I will be faithful to be a super mom through you. As you rest in my sufficiency as your children's parent, you will become a super mom. Not because of you, but because I am living through you as you mother your girls.

I am enough for you each moment of each day.
I am enough for your children each moment of each day.
I am enough for your marriage and matt each moment of each day.
I am simply enough. The sooner you believe that and rest in that truth, the sooner your girls will experience the kind of family life you desire for them. You cannot do it. I CAN.

So I start the next morning with these words in mind. I begin the day thinking, "Lord, you are enough for me. Your strength is made perfect in my weakness as a mother. I trust you to be what I need today. I trust you to be what my kids need today."

The difference is astounding. I can see His strength and love pouring out of me into my children's lives. All glory to God for the days my children get to experience His life through my life. What a gift. He is enough and when I give up and let Him express His life instead of trying to perform on my own-the results are wonderful!