Mommy Moment…
I had someone ask me, “How did you raise such nice kids?” I wasn’t sure how to take it, or how it was meant. Go back and reread that question a couple of times. Change the word that you emphasize. Start with the emphasis on ‘How’. Try it again with ‘nice,’ and ‘raise,’ and again with ‘kids.’ Do you hear a difference? It totally changes the question.
Now…try it again with the word ‘you.’ Unfortunately, I am pretty sure, that is the word she was stressing.
I get it. From the outside looking in, I am not the person you might expect to have raised the kids I have. I am nothing special. I lack most of the traits that the world holds dear and praises. Even in the world of church goers, I fall short. I don’t measure up. But that’s ok. God doesn’t look from the outside. He looks at each of us as a beloved child from His viewpoint of a loving Father.
The question doesn’t offend me. I see all of my shortcomings, too. If I’m honest, I ask that same question with the same emphasis when I look in the mirror. That question keeps me humble, and in the past, when the kids were little, it kept me at the foot of the cross. All of us have days or seasons when we don’t feel good enough. Sweet mommy, you are enough. You have all that you need within you to be a great mommy and raise great kids.
There is a secret answer to the question… I camped out at the foot of the cross. Although I did wonder off at times, I quickly ran back and clung to it and to the Savior whom it represents.
How did I raise such nice kids? The answer is with God’s help.
Mommy, you got this!!
