Real Talk, Mom Talk
I want to get serious with the moms out there for a minute. I want to start by saying that I understand the struggle that being a mother is. We work so incredibly hard and have very few tangible thing to show for our work. We don’t have a paycheck to look at and see how much we’ve accomplished in a firm, obvious way. We don’t have a “product” we can pull out to show others how we spend our time. Let’s face it, kids are not a product. Just when you want them to be ready to “show off,” they’ll make sure you know that they are not to be predicted or anticipated in any way.
Because we lack concrete “proof” in the simplest of definitions of what we “do” with our lives as mothers, I think we tend to overcompensate in other areas and tell of our accomplishments, particularly, for some reason, to other women. My problem with this is that I’ve seen women become discouraged and degraded because of the loud boasting of other women in their accomplishments, especially in their choices as mothers.
Ladies, what good comes from tearing down another woman? We have an amazing opportunity to build other women up in a way that is comforting, freeing, and understanding. When we do the opposite, we not only create and foster insecurity, but we certainly displease the heart of God. There is something so positive and freeing when we can look a mom in the eye who is struggling and tell her that it is going to get better and that we have been where they are now.
Instead of using your words to brag about your choices and actions as a mother, why not stop and listen to another mom’s struggles and help her find confidence and acceptance in her own role as caregiver? At the end of the day, we’re all just figuring this mother thing out as we go along, and it is only arrogance that would boast in the face of someone else’s struggle. Don’t tear down, build up! Let’s help each other out. Together, we may just be able to breakthrough in areas of insecurity and get a little bit closer to being okay with being the mom that we are.
