Since becoming a new mother of 2 the topic of motherhood has been on my mind a lot lately. It's amazing how my perspective has changed so dramatically in the past 2 1/2 years!
I always wanted to be a mom, when I was little I even set age goals in my mind of when I wanted to be married and have kids by (I'm sure a lot of little girls do). By the grace of God I have actually met those goals (not by my own will either!). But to be honest, what it looked like to be a mom didn't seem so desirable (except for having cute kids).
What I mean by that is I almost had a fear that after I had kids I would have to "stay at home all day" and basically lose all of who I was during the younger years. It didn't look like anything I wanted, I thought I would get bored, I thought I would be a basket case in not knowing what to "do", with my day, and in actually raising a child, I even thought I would be missing out on so much!
And WOW has my perspective changed! While yes I did lose some of who I was (selfish, somewhat lazy, not motivated a lot of the time), it is a GOOD thing I lost a lot of that in my life! It is amazing how God uses having children to refine you. And sometimes, yes, I am a basket case in many different aspects (haha) but usually resulting in me having to trust God more and depend on Him more (GOOD thing!) It's taken a lot of give and take to figure out what to "do" with my day, but now that I have worked a lot of it out I find myself MORE motivated (cause I have someone more to live for), much more busy than I ever thought I would be (this is a 24 hour job, not just a "full time" job!).
Even though I may "miss out" on some social event or meeting because I have to "stay at home with kids" I find so much worth in that now and so much satisfaction in that because I know I am discipling the next generation, and I know that every action, word and move I make is being watched by my kids, so it forces me to be more loving, have a better work ethic, and depend on God to a whole new level.
I LOVE MOTHERHOOD now, and I wouldn't give it up for anything in the world because I know ultimately it is leading me more to Christ, it is showing me new things about God, and his love and compassion for us, and it makes me a better wife and friend I believe because I have to die to myself more and more every day.
All that to say, this job is not as easy as it looks, and I have learned day by day that I have to be sure never to judge someone else's job/whatever they do based on my own perspective because until I walk a day in their shoes (or get multiple perspectives), in the words of the MTV tv show Driven:
"You think you know, but you have NO idea!" haha
3 comments:
I am married to the greatest woman on the planet. I agree, having kids has changed my perspective alot also about raising kids. We have alot to learn but I believe that the sacrifices we are making are going to result raising up some serious world changers.
All I want to to say is DITTO! Amy,what an encouraging post! Thank you for sharing. All of what you're saying is so so familiar and much of which I'm currently working through (figure out my days, surrendering, the sacrifices) I'm thankful for the Lord's grace and kindness in this new season. I feel there is great purpose and much for me to learn. You words are inspiring! Keep Posting! Becca R
Aw, sweet, Ross!
I thought I was the greatest, though! :) hee hee
Amy, I loved this post. So great! I'm forwarding to a friend who emailed me today kind of discouraged about having another baby with fears of "staying home" and not being able to be part of ministry like she used to....
I just posted my "making a schedule" post that kind of goes along with this. I agree that making the day work is so worth it and God uses this to make us more loving and fruitful! Amen!
Looking forward to (part2)!! :)
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