Scrolling through Instagram one evening after all three of our kids were asleep, I saw a reel on motherhood and this sentence jumped out at me. I often catch myself reflecting on it, especially in those moments when motherhood is so darn hard and tiring. The days are long, but the years are short.
I have three incredible munchkins aged 6, 3 and 14 months. We are in that sweet spot of toddler cuteness and exhaustion. The numerous moments of joy, chaos, noise, laughter, tears, hugs, disciplining and cuddling are such a gift and treasure that I hope stays with me always. This exciting yet exhausting stage is one of life’s biggest gifts of growth in character and attitude. Motherhood is one of those hoods (pun intended) that often has me overjoyed and perplexed. One moment I am confident in the hood another moment I am questioning it all; my ability; am I doing enough, what if I get it all wrong, what if my mothering causes them trauma? Wild, and interesting as it is, it’s all part of the journey.
I distinctly remember the day we met each of our children. The joy of finally holding them, and then the honest fear that I didn’t have a clue how I was going to mother them, each in their uniqueness. With our first daughter, I longed for a manual on mothering. I hounded the internet looking for one. Three children later, I am accepting that there is no manual on mothering. I hoped and longed for a manual so that I could follow it religiously and get it right, but that would negate the one who calls and equips us on this mothering journey, our Creator, the Lord Almighty. Making peace with the journey of learning, unlearning is a choice we mothers have to make day by day. We are stewards of these children, and only when we posture ourselves to their maker, looking to God for wisdom and guidance along the way, does the journey become worthwhile.
This is a journey of learning and unlearning.
I continue to embrace the truth that God’s strength is indeed made perfect in my weakness. Parenting, particularly motherhood brings to the fore weaknesses we would rather not acknowledge exist within us. The impatience, the anger, the frustrations wrought within nurturing and caring cannot be ignored or swept under the rag. Rather, one has to courageously acknowledge and face them, committing to do the work necessary to become better after each failure. I dread potty training. It brings to the fore how impatient I can be. The days and weeks of accidents, while the little one adjusts out of wearing diapers and learning to use the toilet are without a doubt frustrating for me. As I prepare for it again with my youngest, I hope to be intentional this time round to see the beauty in training however slow it seems, choosing joy over frustration. My patience muscles are about to be stretched again.
For any parent who chances on this post, I hope you are encouraged on this parenting journey. Keep showing up, do your best, schedule in some moments of rest, and above all, lean into God’s abundant grace for you to do this parenting thing! We get to nurture people whose presence will hopefully make the world a better place.
Till next time,
Livi