Mommy Moment Monday: I May Not Have It All Together, But I Sure Do Have It All!

There have just not been enough hours in my days lately!  I haven't published a blog post since my last Mommy Moment Monday post!  I've been determined to keep up with blogging since I started, so I'm a little disappointed.  Hopefully this week will go better!

 

Welcome to Mommy Moment Monday!  Today I want to talk about "it."

 

I just do not have "it" together - whatever "it" is!  You know those Moms who are always on time, always smiling, who have a week's supply of food, clothing, and diapers packed in their car...just in case, who can somehow find the time to exercise, shower, read their Bible, and make breakfast before 8AM, and who's kids are rarely seen misbehaving in public?  I know you're all picturing someone right now...and I know that it's not me!

 

Now picture this:  the Mom who walks into a bank with her 4-year-old and 1.5-year-old, realizes there's no ATM inside, drags her kids through 95 degree weather all the way around to the back of the building to withdraw some money, drags them back inside, only to find she's miscounted and has to do it all again. 

 

Or the Mom who's on a very tight schedule and makes it all the way through the checkout line at Walmart only to find she's left her wallet on her dresser in her bedroom, which means she has to leave her full cart, drive back to her house for her wallet, and return to Walmart and wait in line again. 

 

Or how about the Mom who, right after cleaning up the accident her 4-year-old had in the kitchen, goes into the bathroom and finds her 1.5-year-old (who's recently decided she doesn't like to wear pants or diapers anymore) has taken off her dirty diaper to sit on the potty, used half a container of wipes to try and clean herself, and then attempted to wash her hands in the sink, leaving poop smeared all over the place. 

That's me.  The Mom whose children are running wild in two opposite directions at the grocery store.  The Mom who has to brush her daughter's crazy hair (and I do mean CRAZY) at big brother's soccer game because she ran out of time at home.  The Mom who drives 3 hours to her old house to pick up some things and remembers she gave her key to the realtor, who happens to be out of town that day. 

 

I used to have "it" a little more together, but somewhere around baby #2, I lost "it."  And apparently I have lost even more of "it" recently,  because all of the scenarios I just shared with you have happened in the last two weeks.  And I didn't even tell you everything!

 

But despite all the craziness, I can see that really, I have it all...even if I don't have it all together.  First of all, I'm a Mommy!  I may not be the most organized Mommy, but I am a Mommy, which means I have been given the greatest gift on Earth!  Also, my kids are happy and healthy.  They may run wild sometimes, but that means they're full of life!  And they are good kids.  Sure, they fight and yell at each other sometimes, and they both have their not-so-good moments, but they're also each other's best friend and they're great at hugs and kisses and "I love you's."  And man, they make me proud!  They have great manners (most of the time), they are smart and curious about life, and they are already starting their relationship with God, which means I must be doing something right!  There is so much beautiful in our crazy!

I'm reminded of a couple devotions I've read written by Lysa TerKeurst from Proverbs 31 Ministries.  The main point of both devotions is to encourage parents to focus on raising God-following and God-honoring adults rather than focusing on other not-so-important aspects of parenting - like our kids' ability to follow the rules of this world, our kids' worldly "success", or in my case, my own ability as a mom to keep it all together. 

Ephesians 5:1 reminds us that we are not children of this world but children of God, so we should "Imitate God, therefore, in everything [we] do, because [we] are his dear children."  That's what's important.  We parents should be imitating God and teaching our children to do the same.  Always.  Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says that "...[we] must commit [ourselves] wholeheartedly" to God's commands, and "repeat them again and again to [our] children.  Talk about them when [we] are at home and when [we] are on the road, when [we] are going to bed and when [we] are getting up."   We are comforted in Proverbs 22:6 that if we "Direct [our] children onto the right path, ...when they are older, they will not leave it."

So focus on the beautiful.  Focus on God.  And just take the crazy as it comes!  I hope you're all having a wonderful Monday!


*If any of you want to read the devotions I mentioned by Lysa TerKeurst, leave a comment and I will give you the links.