There's the screaming, crying, sleeplessness and constant emotional roller coasters that women have to deal with.
AND THEN we become a mother.
Now suddenly we're living in a home with one or more other highly irrational individuals.
No one prepared us for this.
They didn't hand out a manual when they set that darling little bundle in our arms and wheeled us out the door of the hospital.
Sure, those women at our baby shower sat there smiling and oohing and cooing about the cute little outfits and bath towels. They had no problem telling us the horrors of labor, but they failed to mention what life with children is really like, or that we would never actually use those silly little bath towels.
They didn't tell us that it's the most frightening, wonderful, terrifying yet glorious experience this side of heaven.
Each season of raising children has joys and trials of it's own.
The euphoria of being a new mom wrapped in the stark reality that we will never-ever enjoy another selfish moment to ourselves.
The joys of toddlers, the adorableness of watching them experience a butterfly while trying to corral them from wobbling into oncoming traffic.
The enthusiasm of pre-schoolers learning to speak in sentences while hushing them before they tell the world that mommy yells at daddy.
The thrill of our school age children playing sports while we sit in the wind and the rain cheering and shivering til we lose our voice.
Then the teens years of figuring out the gentle balance of parent, friend, mentor and confidant. No one prepared me for when that ice-cream smothered smile who wanted an underdog would wish that I didn't walk into school with them.
Suddenly, we blink and they are moving out of our homes and starting new lives. Spreading their wings while we pray that they don't make all the same mistakes we did.
But they will.
And then some.
And it's ok, they need to.
It's how we learned, and they will too.
My children are 23, 21, 19 and 7.
I tease that I've become my own mentor.
Sometimes I think I got another chance to get it right, and then I see how great my kids are doing and think- maybe I didn't get it so wrong.
Raising Lauren is so different from the first three.
My first three were so close together and life was crazy!
But with Lauren, things are much more subdued and I enjoy a lot more one-on-one time with her, which is good because those first 2 years in an orphanage left her filled with internal scars and needing a mommy with time for her.
I am so blessed also to have the opportunity to speak to so many MOPS groups. I love these women and the precious time of life that they are in.
I remember needing encouragement.
Needing someone to say, "you will get through this season, and you will be thankful for it!"
I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Elisa Morgan, founder of MOPS.
She is a little powerhouse. A precious woman with a heart of gold. Check out her latest book, "She Did What She Could."
Thank you Elisa Morgan for starting this amazing ministry and lifting the hearts of young moms everywhere!
Please encourage a mom with young ones today, and call her on your way to the store, chances are she could stand to have you pick something up for her.
To find a MOPS group in your area:
MOPS International
