What was supposed to be two weeks of COVID-19 shutdown, has now turned into an unpredictable season. Now, an end to social distancing doesn’t seem to be anytime soon. It’s been more than a year and they say we will be back to normal this fall–nearly two years gone. After spending time apart in social…
As I sat in Jessica’s office she could already observe the medication she had prescribed for my anxiety was making a difference. “I didn’t know life could be this way. I don’t panic about my kids playing outside in the front yard. I’m not terrorized by racing thoughts at night. I don’t feel like I’m…
“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…” We have all hummed this catchy little tune a time or two. It is based on Matthew 5:16. Jesus had just finished healing thousands and giving us the gift of the eight beatitudes. Jesus wasn’t talking about making sure we turned on our porch lights at night. He was talking about letting the Holy Spirit shine brightly within us. The Holy Spirit is sent to each believer to dwell with us. This “glow” means the light within you is how you allow yourself to be led by the Holy Spirit.
Welcome to the mother ‘hood’: Where you will forever be chasing how to be a better mom. Motherhood is a place where you have no control over anything. The time and day no longer matter. Your purse has officially become a dumpster fire. Showering is optional, coffee is not. Sleep will be nonexistent for the next 18 years, and everyone will have an opinion on how you handle the hood. You will repeat yourself a hundred times just to get shoes on. You will never get to pee alone again and now you get to cross your legs when you sneeze.
This should be the official welcome declaration that is read in the tone of the Miranda Rights to every new mother as she waddles to the bathroom in her hospital mesh underwear just after birth.
At some point you’ll lose yourself.
I know I did, deep in the trenches of motherhood, being a wife, being an employee and everything in between.
I even lost myself to an illness that blindsided me.
It’s been said that everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die. I’ve found the same to be true about marriage. Everybody wants to be married but no one wants to do the work. Having been married nearly 21 years I’m often asked how we make it work. Here’s the secret: Marriage isn’t…