The Mom Crisis

Motherhood has been part of my life for almost 26 years.  When I got married at the tender age of 19 my life became consumed with becoming a mom.  It was what many girls did.

 Grow up... get married...have kids

I remember when I was pregnant with my first child, I told everyone where I worked that I would be tanning most of the summer after my baby was born in early June.   I thought I had hit the "high life". My baby would sleep all the time and need only a small snippet of my time during the day.  

Yep.....funny isn't it?  Did you laugh?

I quickly learned that having a child was a full time commitment with very little down time and very little sleep.  Zombie had an entirely different meaning then.  I was barely awake during the daylight hours and nighttime sleep was interrupted hourly. I was also the palest chick in Northern Virginia that year.  PHEW!!  Why didn't anyone warn me is was such a big job?

Fast forward to my life now.  Ten kids.  God sure has a sense of humor.  He gave me my "share" and a few others too.  I live in the trenches.  Nicely placed between the diaper trench and the teen attitude trench.  Yes, I have it going both ways.  My littlest is 6 and will never be continent.  My middle child is 10 but has the chemistry of a 15 year old.  My oldest daughter, still at home, just turned 18 and  is very young at heart. She seems to act like a child full of giddy wonder minute to minute.  The full scope of motherhood.  Toddler to teen and beyond.

So, can I get an "Amen!" that motherhood is the most rewarding job one can ask for and one of the most daunting?   Full of inexplicable joy, unending rewards and daily trials.  It's a thankless job and many times we feel under appreciated.  Worrying becomes a way of life -- whether we worry about our child being bullied or our child drinking at college.  Worry can really consume you if you don't have a grounding force like Jesus.

Christ has taught me many things in this journey:

• I am called
• I am equipped
• I am qualified by Christ alone
• He is with me every second
• He carries me when I cant make it 
• His Holy Spirit guides me
• He is in control - not me.

Mothers in general are tired and strung out to the Nth degree.  Our days are filled with being a taxi driver, a referee, a house keeper, a chef, and a teacher.  (you know the list could go on...)
Some moms are dealing with children who are aggressive - they are punched, kicked, spit on, and scratched.  Some moms have children who don't communicate or cant even function without assistance to breathe.  This is the trenches in a very real way. No mom has it easy - EVERY mom has issues to deal with that they do not feel they can handle or that will break their heart in a million pieces.

Many moms plaster the smile on their faces and quietly suffer.  Some moms are complainers and feel all should be aware of their struggles.  No matter where you fit in this scenario.... if you are a mom you are important. loved, and you will make it. God has given your a ladder to climb out of the trench.  It reaches from Heaven to your deepest pit of despair and hurt

God has this.   ALLOW Him to work in your life.  Yes, thing are hard. Yes, we don't like it. Yes, you want to scream.  (By the way - go outside and scream if you need to --- it makes you feel so much better!)

I can attest to suffering for my kids.  Sacrificing my "self" for the betterment of their lives.  I am not the only one who has given their all for the sake of their children.  MANY mothers do this.  Giving of ourselves is done freely because we love.  God is the same way.  He doesn't have to give to us.  He does it because He loves. YOU are His child and He gave the ultimate sacrifice for you.

This crisis is real.  Moms are on the edge.... every day we need edification and we need our sisters to rally around us.  We need our spouses to rally around us.  We need time away from our children who sometimes suck the life out of us.

We need Christ.

 I find it interesting that the word crisis and the word Christ are so similar.   Just remember --- put Christ at the center of your crisis.  Seek Him daily and without fail.  Allow Him to guide you and pour into you. No matter how down we are. And when we fail ourselves or feel we fail Him... run to Him and allow Him to heal your heart.  He loves you no matter what. 

No. Matter. What.