So by now, the cover to Time about the mom breastfeeding her 3 year old (maybe he was older, can’t recall) has been all over the place. To refresh your memory, you can review the article here.
My question is what is it with our media tearing at the fabric of who we are? There’s the old debate of working mom versus the stay at home mom, the attachment method vs well…the nonattachment, breastfed or bottle-fed, to spank or not spank.
Is it just me or are there enough compromises and drawing lines in the sand, of whether or not we are good enough? We are good enough, in fact, we are better. Each of us comes armed with what we need to raise our children the way God created us. We are better! It reminds me of one of God’s amazing names, Yahweh Nissi, meaning the Lord Is My Banner. Ancient armies used to carry a banner or shield that was symbolic of their country, heritage, or king. As the battle looked as if they would lose to defeat, someone would raise that banner, it energized the soldiers to fight harder and ignited their hearts for what they were fighting for.
As Christian Mama’s we are all under that one banner, let’s set aside the hype and expectations of “Are You Mom Enough” that pits us against each other.
So with that I leave you with a few things I think each of us need to say to ourselves and maybe each other.
I am mom enough to discipline.
I am mom enough to breastfeed.
I am mom enough to bottlefeed.
I am mom enough to stand out from the crowd.
I am mom enough to befriend a nonbeliever.
I am mom enough to respect another’s parenting practices.
I am mom enough to share my opinions in light of God’s word.
I am mom enough to lay my differences aside to stand beside another mom
I am mom enough to raise my kids how God is leading me.
I am mom enough to trust that I am doing the right thing.
I am mom enough to wave the banner high for all moms to see.
10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him,and his resting place will be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush,[a] from Elam, from Babylonia,[b] from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.
12 He will raise a banner for the nations
and gather the exiles of Israel;
he will assemble the scattered people of Judah
from the four quarters of the earth.
Isaiah 11:10-12.
And it seems I am not the only one is saw through the hype of the Time Cover of Are You Mom Enough, check out Tracey Solomon’s Post here.
Well said. The one thing we need as mothers is to follow God’s lead. Comparison to someone else always leads to discontent and doubt and often away from the very thing our family needs. For as many different families there are, there are different styles and approaches that work. No one size fits all. And we need to extend the same grace to other moms as we give ourselves! Thanks for sharing, Heather. Looking forward to your book.
Thx Angela, you have great insight, we don’t need to compare. 🙂 Loved checking out your website.
The cover of the Time issue devalued something sacred. First women are objectified and now motherhood is being objectified. Is nothing sacred anymore?
Heather I agree with you we as mothers need to know we are Mom Enough, and I believe getting to the root cause of our insecurities in not just in our motherhood, but in our womanhood. Do we really know how valuable we are to GOD? Sure we say it, but do we know it deep down in our soul? Do we [truly] know that we are Women of Worth whom GOD the Father and GOD the Son paid the ultimate price for? Do we know how each of us are created to be a Unique Beauty? Not just in a limited physical sense, but our entire being is a Unique Beauty. What the world considers as imperfections, GOD sees as unique details.
As long as we waste our “time” in secular magazine instead of GOD’s word we will feel like we are “not enough” as a woman and a mother. Consumerism is based on making people feel “not good enough” so that we buy what they are selling. Even when you haven’t read a secular magazine in years there are still the whispers of the enemy, our own self-doubt saying that we are “not good enough”.
We are to lift one another up in Christ and encourage one another to focus on GOD’s Truth instead of the enemy’s lies. We are Daughters of GOD created with a Unique Purpose giving us intrinsic value and making us Women of Worth. We are Women of Worth, because we get our worth from Heaven not earth. GOD has given me my dignity, because my identity is in Him. GOD paid the ultimate price, so we are not just merely “good enough” we are priceless.
Anissa, AMEN! Love the picture you painted. We are priceless. Thanks for stopping by!!!