They call me mommy.

The other day I watched a mom bring in a class treat for her child’s birthday.  It was a display of perfect cubes of rice krispy treats and blue jello stacked ever so creatively to look like a scene from minecraft.  Instantly I felt guilt and inadequacy sweep over me.  Why was I not that cool of a mom?  I have the same amount of time in my day as she does hers.  Why can’t I find the time to do things like that?  Now if I struggled with those thoughts I am sure that every other mother out there does as well.  That stupid comparison game where you either think you are better because your child has a better costume for history day and everyone compliments her on it or you think you are worse because it is all you could do to pull yourself out of bed and put a hat on his head for history day.  Whoa, whoa, whoa.  Ladies what are we doing to ourselves.  We have the most important job in our children’s lives and I know that God has equipped you to be the mother of that specific child.  Maybe the minecraft scene isn’t important to your kid.  Heck mine doesn’t even like minecraft so if I showed up with that same snack it wouldn’t mean a darn thing to him.  I want to challenge each of you to dig deeper into your child’s heart and discover what is important to him or her.  Then do what is important to that individual.  Don’t compare yourself to other moms and think that they have it all together.  Because I can guarantee you that the mom that looks completely put together lays in bed at night thinking that she doesn’t measure up.  As a mom I used to not realize how important I was in my children’s lives.  I mean I wasn’t really doing anything to change them or teach them.  That was until I had the very unique opportunity to have a professional investigate me as a parent.  It was called a Parental Responsibilities Evaluation.  This stranger came into my life, ripped open every area where he could have found fault, dug through the history of me as a mom.  Who changed the diapers?  Who gave the baths?  Who brushed their teeth?  Who took them to the doctor?  Who was there on your child’s first day of school?  Who did the child’s homework with them?  Wait….those things matter, I thought to myself?  I had critiqued myself as a mom over and over again and thought I was nothing special up to this point.  But as this professional began to peel back the layers I could see the mother’s heart that God had placed inside of me.  We as mothers just do what needs to be done.  I never stopped to think that each time I changed a diaper I was teaching my child about unconditional love.  I never stopped to think that while I was doing homework with my child I was showing them that I would be there when they felt like they couldn’t do life on their own.  I never stopped to think that when I was teaching them how to bathe I really was showing them that life gets messy but nothing a good scrubbing can’t take away.  I never stopped to think that while I was playing catch with my son really I was showing him that you never know what life is going to throw at you but with the right equipment you can make still make a play.  I never stopped to think that while I was dancing with my daughters in the kitchen really I was telling them that they are beautiful princesses worthy of the love of a KING.  I remember sitting across from this professional one day and he said to me “You are an incredible mother and your children are blessed to have you.  You sell yourself short and you don’t realize the impact you are having”.   So please mother’s everywhere give yourself a pat on the back.  You are changing more than you think.  And the work you are doing does not go unnoticed by the most important people in your life, the little eyes that are watching you, the little hands that you are holding, those are the people that matter.  Not the mom that made a better costume than you or the mom that spent hours in the kitchen preparing that snack.  God created you for your child.  Fully embrace the job you have been gifted.