all the special ladies

I recently attended a special viewing of Unsung Hero, the new movie about the Smallbone family. You probably know some of the family members as Rebecca St. James or For King and Country. It was encouraging to hear their story, especially because I listened to the music of Rebecca St. James in my bedroom of lavendar colored walls and ballerina border from middle school and beyond. Her music was another way Jesus spoke into my life.

I was able to meet Mr. and Mrs. Smallbone, the dad and mom of the seven children! They answered some questions from the crowd and afterward, we were able to meet them personally. They were authentic and real about their struggles and how it looks to live like Christ, in all of our struggles and imperfections.

There are many unsung heroes in our lives, especially moms. I think when I was little I thought of “mom” as not-so-human who lives to take care of me, without a thought that she has personal desires, feelings, and needs. As in, “Of course you want to take me to ballet class, right? What else would you have to do?”

I am not the most experienced mom, but I have a few years to my credit. Motherhood is a blessing and I feel joy everyday to get to hold this position. I also feel the burden of responsibility and go to bed many times feeling I am failing. To try to do what God would want when it comes to the details of “momming” gets tiring. Was I too hard? Was I too easy? Should they participate here? Should they wait on going there? Should they stay up to watch a movie or go to bed? Do they have enough friends? Do I expect too much at school? So many questions! I want to do the very best I can!

The great gift from God is that the way they grow up is not purely up to me! God takes all my mistakes and redeems them each day! When I fail, He doesn’t! I have learned to talk through my mistakes with my kids, especially the older ones. I have let them know I make mistakes and I need God’s forgiveness too. I also remind them that I have never been a mom to that particular child before! I let them know that I am doing the very best I can because I am accountable to God for what I do, even though I will make mistakes. It helps put it in perspective for them and they can understand it better as they grow up.

My favorite parts of motherhood definitely includes rocking babies. I also love sewing clothes and embroidering clothes for them. Watching them understand Who God is makes the top moments of motherhood too. Even Krew, who is two, knows God made the trees and God made him! The pure joy that children have is contagious and a sweet gift God gives. Raegan picks bouquets of clover and other assorted weeds and we put them in a Kentucky Derby vase. Nobody grows up unscathed because people hurt us and people disappoint us. We fail and we feel rejection. In these innocent precious years, soak up all the sweet joy that exudes from children. Let the laughter and wonder at the little stuff take over!

The funniest parts of motherhood include wondering why they always wait outside the bathroom door for me. Seriously, brushing my teeth is not that exciting, folks. Like cats, babies will always crawl over to everything they shouldn’t. There may be toys all over the floor, but they will find the one carpet fiber out of the floor and put it in the mouth. Kids also move constantly. The smaller they are, the more room they take up in the bed! It’s crazy how that works!

Remember, kids will get skinned knees and kids will experience heartache. We cannot prevent that, and we shouldn’t. They need to know that they CAN pick themselves up literally when they are little and they CAN pick themselves up metaphorically when they are big! God doesn’t promise us an easy life either. He DOES promise to be with us all the time and help us make it through when we feel beat up and scraped up by life. Just as God is there to hold us closely,  we moms get to be there to hug them, dust off their britches, and stand them up so they can go again. We get to be the one!

Some moms are not biological, but special ladies God puts in our lives. I have a wonderful friend, who is a grandmother, and even lives in another state! She sends the best e-cards and we keep in touch regularly. I wish she lived closer, so she could speak wisdom to me in person!

A special lady involved in the student ministry at a church Brett was student pastor at, was an active mom of a son there. He is finished with college now, and we keep up with them through Christmas cards, but had not talked in a while. She took the time to set up and time to meet using zoom and catch up this week! She was on every student trip as a leader and taught a girls small group. She may have never taught me in a class, but she has taught me about life through her words and actions.

What special ladies speak into your life?

Hugs to all the moms who take care of their little people through dirty diapers, puke, dirty clothes, smart mouths, tears, mean glares, hurts, mean girls, skinned knees, death-defying tricks off couches, practices, graduations, weddings, grandchildren, and beyond.

Even when we think that nobody sees the sacrifices that are made or how hard we work and feel like we fail, God always sees. He knows. Remember to thank the unsung heroes and any other special “moms” in your life this week!

He hears the prayers of the righteous.

Proverbs 15:29

Love,

Charis

Pic(K) of the week:

Puddle jumping

Is there anything better about childhood than playing in a fresh spring rain?