A Battle Cry for Moms
I am a new mom. If we were sitting together (six feet apart of course), you would see the spit-up stains on my maroon robe I now deem my uniform, the dark bags under my eyes, and a house consumed with baby things.
Motherhood is not what I expected.
People said it would be challenging but most told me to “enjoy every moment” or “I would give anything to have my kids be babies again.”
Anyone who has had or been near a newborn knows there is a depth to their presence. They are small, snuggly, and innocent; yet, they require so much work! How could something so little need so much attention—day and night?
Am I going to make it through this? The answer I continue coming back to is, yes. Despite the challenges motherhood holds, I know it will get better. I don’t know how or when, but I know it will get better. I know this because I serve a God who is in control. I serve a God who has walked with me through a ten-year struggle with an eating disorder where I wrestled with the same question – will I make it through this? At a time when food and body image consumed so much of my life, God brought me through it. He will surely bring me to the other side of the sleepless nights and crying fits.
So much of this life is uncertain, and today it is compounded as we celebrate Mother’s Day in isolation. Whether you are wishing for a moment of peace from quarantine with your children, wishing your children were home, or longing to become a mother, the vast majority of us are not where we envisioned ourselves being. The beautiful thing about uncertainty is that despite the unknown, there is one thing we can always count on–the Creator of the world is in control of everything.
We need not worry about what comes next, because He has planned our steps for us.
In theory this is reassuring, but how do we hold on to this truth in the midst of despair and instability? We cling to the truths set forth in the Bible, we lean on our support systems, and we take it one day at a time. A verse I have found hope in is 1 Samuel 16:7 ESV: “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’”
Recovery and motherhood are journeys filled with many ups and downs and endless twists and turns. One thing both journeys have in common is that it takes courage to walk to through them. To all the mamas out there, you are doing it!
No one sees the countless loads of laundry you do or understands why the dishwasher feels like it is perpetually running. No one understands how a single cry can pierce your heart or a hug can make you melt. No one knows the way you function with little to no sleep. We are in this together.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers, past and present, and mother figures out there. You are all heroes!