Motherhood's A Mess
Motherhood can make you a mess but it’s so worth it.
It can feel as if you are always a mess, especially when you have young kids. Those teeny hands are more often than not covered in something sticky and then you, as the one they cling to are covered in something sticky.
If you are breastfeeding, like I am currently, you’re likely slightly saturated with milk and sweat.
And y’all, let’s not forget the poop explosions. If you have been peed or pooped on, you are a MOM!
Being a mom also means your house is sometimes a mess. I have just dumped a load of clean laundry on the sofa a lot of times because I can’t seem to make time. Typically, in my house toys are strewn carelessly around.
But for your stage of motherhood it might be dirty laundry covering the floor or shoes carelessly kicked from this place to that. Let’s face it, that’s my stage, too.
Overall, tidying is not top priority when you have places to chauffeur kids, diapers to change, lunches to make and the list goes on.
But, motherhood also means our attitudes can be quite messy, too. Whether you’re watching your oldest push the youngest OFF the swing or someone is whining about a disliked chore or vegetable they don’t want to eat, there are many reasons for bad attitudes in the hearts of mothers.
I can’t explain the feeling I get inside my body when one of these sinners rolls his eyes at me but once I’ve reached that point of tension I don’t have kind words to offer. Sometimes, I hold my tongue and put myself in one of those coveted ‘mommy time-outs’ but regardless my heart gets a little messy.
More often than I’d like to admit, I find myself asking for forgiveness and wondering how badly I’ve screwed up my children by my quick temper.
But raising children is rewarding. Even if we aren’t taking into account all the smiles, the laughter, the hugs, the special traditions and memories that warm your heart, motherhood has a reward. What lay in the wake of all the messiness is sanctification at its best. The Holy Spirit is working in us as mothers in a way that both redeems and convicts.
All the mess around us can either be overlooked or improved upon and it’s by God’s gracious gift that we are able to experience it at all. Motherhood is discipleship. If you are a Christian, motherhood is raising a new generation of believers that will go out into the world and preach the Gospel. Mark 16:15
If you are not a Christian, you have not been left alone in the mess of motherhood. There is a God who sees you in the difficult moments and He still loves you. God will not forsake you in your shortcomings. He has provided a way. There is hope for restoration.
