Join me in welcoming one of our newest contributors, Laura Dedmon, to The Better Mom as she encourages moms to focus on what God can do rather than what we can't do. - XO, Ruth

********************

It's no secret that mommin' ain't easy. There are shirts that proclaim it, comedy segments that reference it, parody songs that sing it, and moms that post it.

But in all this popularizing the hardships of motherhood have we somehow championed the struggle more than the Overcomer? Sure, motherhood is a struggle but it is also so much more. It is an opportunity to experience and glorify God. So how do we avoid glorifying the struggle of motherhood over the maker of mothers?

Focus on what He can do rather than what we can't do.

I don't know about you but I can't do it all. I am one person. I get tired. I forget. I get frustrated. I get lost. I fail. But God, He gives me all the strength I need to accomplish the tasks He has laid before me. There is no need for me to look at my day as the endless list of things to do that will never get done. Instead I can see a series of opportunities for God to use in mine and my children's lives. (Even if that means there is laundry left unfolded and dishes in the sink.) By trusting God and surrendering to Him I will not only make it to the end of the day in one piece but I will praise God for His goodness and provisions.

We aren't meant to do it all and that’s okay. He gives us strength to accomplish things but only to accomplish the tasks He has laid before us. Not every task I want to complete is what He has called me to. There are limitations to my calling as a mother because my limitations point even more to the fact that He is limitless.

Let's be real for a minute: I am not the mom with the cute mommy and daughter matching outfits. I am not the mom who eats only organic. I am not the mom who can sew and that's okay. Because I am the mom who reads "one more book”. I am the mom who let's them help in the kitchen even if it means more clean up for me. I am the mom, like so many, who does what she can by God's strength. I don't have to match every Pinterest or Instagram mom out there, I just have to be the mom God called me to be.

Our children aren't really ours, they are God's. This was a hard truth for me to swallow as a new mom. I loved the one I had spent years praying for and months growing. She was mine; I knew her and I loved her. But I had a friend who used the phrase "they are His not mine" enough times that it really made me think. It is such a simple phrase yet it speaks volumes of truth. Our children are not in fact ours. Our children were known by God long before they were conceived. Our children are loved by God more than we can even comprehend. Our role is to love them as God loved us, live as an example of someone surrendered to God, guide them towards God, and to pray that they will fall in love with God.

So yes motherhood is hard but let us not be bogged down by the struggle. Instead let us cling to the only One who can not only overcome the struggle but can turn our struggle into a triumph.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Blessings,

Laura Dedmon