Mother of the Year
Today’s Truth
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Friend to Friend
I think I lost my “Mother of the Year” award today. I forgot to send lunch money to school with my little boy. I did not have socks and underwear washed for my teenage son when he needed them. I forgot to tell my daughter to call her friend back once she had completed her homework. I did not realize the dog needed water in her bowl until the end of the day.
I think my life is much too busy and I am often too preoccupied with trying to take care of the multitude of demands on me as a wife and mother.
You know you have too much on your mind when you open the freezer door and put your coffee cup inside in an attempt to heat up your coffee. Or when you try to put milk in the pantry instead of the refrigerator. Perhaps you can identify with spending an entire afternoon searching for your glasses only to realize they have been on top of your head all along. You know you are too preoccupied when your pencil has been resting behind your ear all day and you’ve spent hours complaining about how someone always moves your pencil from your desk but never puts it back!
Have you ever spent hours cutting out coupons yet rarely remember to take them to the grocery with you? Or, you write a detailed grocery list with a menu to the side only to leave it hanging on the refrigerator door. Well, these things are frustrating but certainly not worth losing the “Mother of the Year” award. For we will never be perfect –perfection is only what we STRIVE to achieve. It will only be obtained when we stand before Jesus’ throne. Then and only then, will all the unnecessary pressures of life melt away in a moment, for Jesus makes no unrealistic demands on us---not ever!
So the next time you are feeling frustrated with your own imperfection and feel you won’t be voted “Mother of the Year” just remember you don’t have to be perfect just yet. Keep trying to do your very best for that is all that is required of you. Tomorrow is a brand new day and you will be on top of things again. The lunch money will be placed in the book bag, the socks and underwear will be washed, dried, folded, and put away for your son, and you will have the written note to give to your daughter to remind her to call her friend after she completes her homework. The dog will have a full bowl of water early in the day and you will again feel a sense of accomplishment instead of failure.
Always remember that you are still the “Mother of the Year” to your own household if you do the best you can all year. No matter how bad you goof, no one can replace you!
Let’s Pray
“Lord, thank you for the gift of my family. Help me to focus on the most important things. I confess to you today that I feel like a failure. I want to be the best mother and wife I can possibly be but often feel I fail terribly. Please help me trust in your strength and power over my human frailty.” Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
Have you ever felt like you lost your “Mother of the Year” award? Have you ever had the enemy arrive on your doorstep with one goal in mind…to convince you that you are a failure?
Well…you are not a failure my friend. There are just so many demands we must meet as women and sometimes we feel over-whelmed with the enormous tasks before us.
Allow yourself to be “real.” I must confess I am still working on this one. I am often too hard on myself when I fail to remember things or fail to “get it all done.”
Realize you are not perfect…but keep striving to be the best you can be for God, your family, others, and yourself! You are the only “Mother of the Year” in your household.
Ask the Lord to help you realize what an honor it is to serve your family.
Ask the Lord to be in every detail of your day. You will see the difference! I promise!
More from the Girlfriends
I want to encourage you to keep pressing forward. If you will include Jesus in each and every part of your day, you will succeed and he will make your crooked path a straight one as He gently reveals what HE requires of you.
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Girlfriends in God
Matthews, NC 28106
Originally published Friday, 05 October 2007.
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