Let me start this post with a disclaimer. Titles like that can often prompt backlash even before entire articles are read. This post provides help for weary mothers. It is meant to inspire. It’s also meant to uplift and support every woman who is doing her best to love and raise her children in a stressful, busy, chaotic world. It’s not meant to imply that there’s something inherently wrong with Disney Land or that parents who take children there aren’t good parents.
Motherhood is often stressful nowadays
End of disclaimer. On with the post. Most mothers today have many tasks and duties to carry out on a regular basis. They rarely have time to sit and relax. The face of motherhood has drastically changed over the years; the majority of women have welcomed some of the changes, others, not so much.
For instance, I don’t know many mothers who like the fact that they have to instruct their children on survival skills for mass shooting situations. That should not be a normal part of motherhood, but in this modern world, it is.
Help for weary mothers in the workforce
Many mothers work from home or outside the home to help make ends meet. In fact, a lot of women are primary breadwinners in their homes. No two motherhood journeys are exactly the same. No one can tell an individual mother what is best for her family.
I have no way of knowing what is in your heart if you are a mother reading this article. However, I think I can logically assume that you have doubted yourself at some point. Perhaps, you’ve grown weary. Maybe you’ve convinced yourself that you’re failing your children if you can’t provide certain luxuries that you believe other mothers are able to provide.
Your children need you more than luxuries
To help weary mothers, I wish I could shout one thing from a rooftop today. It is this: You are enough! Your children will survive not having the latest, greatest Nintendo PlayStation, top of the line Nike shoes or iPhones. What they need most is you. They need to know they can turn to you for support. They need to know that you’ll love them when they make mistakes or commit wrongful acts.
Children need ample time with you, their mother. There is no replacement for you in their lives. They don’t care if you can’t take to them to Disney Land every year. Remember that day recently, when you sat down to color a picture with your toddler? Do you recall a time when you walked in the woods with your teenage daughter and talked about boys? Remember when you let your son build a campfire and you roasted marshmallows together?
Time is more precious than gold
At the time, you may not have realized that you were giving your children something far greater than any store-bought product or prime package vacation. Your daily life may be very different from the moms who live on your street. That’s okay, because each of your lives is knitted together in community. Together, mothers can help other weary mothers. All of you, together, make a beautiful, diverse world and lasting story.
Mother Teresa offered help for weary mothers because she used to say that God does not expect us to be successful, only faithful to our calling. God chose you, specifically, to be the mother of your children because He knew you were perfect for the job. He doesn’t measure your accomplishments. God doesn’t love you according to how much “stuff” you can acquire for your children as they grow.
In God’s eyes and for your children, you are enough
God loves you just as you are. He expects nothing more from you than to give your heart to Him and to the children with whom He has blessed you in life. You are enough and your home need not look like the center of a posh living magazine. It’s okay if you don’t have cash to pay for college educations. You need not be the best cook or most ingenious entrepreneur. Don’t worry if you don’t have endless amounts of energy or abs of steel.
You are enough and your children need you. They need time with you, truth from you, support and encouragement from you and unconditional love. God sees and blesses your efforts. You are enough.
Writer Bio: Judy Dudich
Judy Dudich resides in the beautiful woods of Pennsylvania, where 24 acres of land and a home-office provide the perfect setting for her children’s home-education and her own homesteading and business ventures. Life is full of blessings (and challenges!) for Judy, as a wife, mother of 10 and Grammy to six. She is a published author, whose book, “I Surrender/A Study Guide for Women” continues to encourage and support others in Christian family lifestyles throughout the world. Judy has also previously worked in the online speaking circuit. Her passion for permaculture, re-purposing, foraging and organic gardening fills her days with learning and adventure that she loves to share.
