Hope in the mess. We could all use some of that, couldn't we? There's been a lot of talk about messy motherhood lately on the web, and rightfully so. Motherhood is hard.

Highly valuable, yes.
Worthy of praise, yes.
Extraordinary, absolutely.
Hard, no stinkin question.

If someone tells you motherhood isn't hard, they're not telling you the truth.

But then really, all of life is hard, isn't it? Messy?

Just the other day, one of my best friends lost her son at the park. Actually, she lost both of her sons at the park. One (the toddler) was running around in a parking lot, and the other was hiding from her in an enclosed slide. Thank God, they were both safe, but she left the park that day a frazzled mess, thoroughly embarrassed and convinced she was getting the WORST mother of the year award.

You know, I've lost my kids before, too. They've acted out in public, run away when I called them, and once...once they were so terrible in public that I grabbed them both up under my arms and ran out of a building crying. True story.

That's the reality of motherhood. Or at least it's the reality of my motherhood. Not every day is like that. In fact, most of our days are pretty good. But there are just enough of "those days" to leave me on my knees. I can't do it by myself, this mothering thing, so I ask God to help me, lead me, and shape me into the woman he wants me to be. If I didn't, I wouldn't make it.

And I think that's the way he wants it.

Our lives weren't meant to be easy.

I love the song, Mighty to Save, by Laura Story. Especially these lyrics:

So take me as You find me All my fears and failures, fill my life again I give my life to follow Everything I believe in, I surrender...I surrender..

As I pondered those words one Sunday in church this thought came to me. Jesus gave his life to follow what he believed in, and he says to us, "deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me" (Luke 9:23). Why should we think what he's called us to do, how he's asked us to follow him, should be any different or easier than what he gave up so that we could follow God?

John 16:33 (ESV) says this:

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

There is a cost—always a personal sacrifice—involved in wildly and faithfully obeying our callings. And if motherhood is your calling, you should expect no less (<<---tweet that!).

Jesus sacrificed all for us. We must be willing to do the same for him.

Including any dreams of motherhood—life—being easy.

Whatever we're called to—mother, wife, woman, child of God, employee, volunteer, servant—should be hard. It should bring us joy because God has called us to do it, but the doing of it may not always bring us joy.

Here's the main thing I want you to know about me, sweet friends...

I’m just a girl who loves Jesus, a boymom who needs Him more and more every day, a wife whose husband loves her way more than she deserves, and a sinner whose past no longer defines her present.

If you don’t remember anything else about me, like where I went to college, or how many books I’ve written, just remember those things? Because they represent the real me…the one who’s probably a lot more like you than you might think. We’re in this together, friends, and if "Imperfect Mom" is on your job description, well, we should get to know each other, because it's on mine, too.

Blessings,

Brooke McGlothlin

This post is a part of our “Who We Are” Series. For all posts visit,

“Who We Are: The Stories Behind TBM Writers”