There are seasons when parenting is just plain H-A-R-D.
And when your kids get older, you can't do the #askingforafriend thing on facebook, so it can also be lonely.
I don't know about you, but when I'm in that lonely place, I tell myself all kinds of lies about what a bad mom I am and how I messed up long ago and there is no hope to correct it at this stage of life. And that my kids actions/non-actions are all because of my errors--basically, that I'm in charge of their heart instead of God. By the end of the conversation, I have allowed myself to be sucked into so many lies, that it's hard to distinguish Truth.
But that's probably never happened to you, huh?
This week, I had 3 different adults tell me how great my daughter was. And this morning, I was thinking how nice that was. Not because their words brought affirmation to me and what I'm doing as a parent, but because it made me realize once again that Brian and I aren't in this alone. That there are others who see and care about my daughter. It helped me to take a step back and look at the 50,000 foot view instead of being in the midst of it.
I love passion. Even when I don't agree with that passion, I love seeing people stand up for their values and what they believe in.
But what if we took just a little of that passion and put it into encouraging other moms in our life? What if we became village people and instead of using all our words to bash/condone/praise a candidate, we used them to speak Truth into another mama? What if we used some of our passion for the refugee issue and opened our eyes to situations in our own neighborhood? I'm not saying don't care about refugees or candidates, I'm just saying what if there's enough passion for those AND our immediate village?
What if we all asked God to show us who to encourage today? It may not even be a mama, but I'm pretty sure He will bring someone to mind. And what if, instead of using our energy to make political posts, we used some to remind a friend that you SEE them and their kid?
And the thing is, it doesn't take long. As I've been typing this, 2 moms have come to mind--one of whom looks on facebook like her life is perfect and she doesn't need a village.
But let me tell you another secret (its 2 for 1 day here on the blog).
I'll just bet she questions herself. Or has hard parenting days. Or feels lonely. And a word from you would turn her day around.
Let's just make it 3 for 1 and I'll tell you one last secret (y'all are making out like bandits here!).
You can send a text and shoot up a prayer in a matter of seconds. You can even do it while you're putting on your makeup or fixing your coffee or even going to the bathroom (don't pretend you don't take your phone with you). It won't take as much effort as it might seem at first. You don't have to use eloquent words or find the perfect Bible verses.
Who, specifically, can you be a village for today? And you don't have to dress like this to be considered a village:
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