A Good Mom

This afternoon the children and I took a quick road trip to see Grandmother, Granddaddy & Nana in Atlanta. We played, swam, snacked, fed geese in a nearby pond, enjoyed dinner and then travelled back home. There was laughter and fun, but there was also crude joking, not listening, a couple of major fits, running indoors, voices raised too loud, rushing on and off elevators impolitely in front of adults. Normal 5 year old behavior...

As we drove home my mind went back over our afternoon--a little game I play, evaluating how I handled specific situations and how I could respond differently (better) the next time. Then my thoughts went to a dangerous place, wondering what others thought of the way I mother my children. Specifically, I wondered if my inlaws thought I was too hard on K, P & R.

So, I called my sweet mother-in-law and completely put her on the spot by asking. I invited her to give me her thoughts on how to handle some of the behaviors she witnessed. Thankfully, she is a wonderfully gracious woman whom I trust and respect. The conversation was helpful.

But as we got off the phone and into this evening I have found myself pondering why being a Mom can be so guilt-inducing.

I have no expectation of being perfect. I just really want to give it my all. I want to be a good and faithful servant who does well with what she is entrusted.

I pray. I read. I compare notes with other Moms.

I mess up. I apologize. I respond in ways I wish I hadn't. I embrace grace and mercy and pray for the strength to do it all over again the next day.

As I was thinking about it tonight I couldn't help but wonder...what is the definition of a good Mom anyway?

I think a good mother loves her Lord, her husband and her children. I believe she strives to model love, service and faithfulness for her family. A good mother is someone who understands her need for a Saviour and never pretends she can do it all on her own. She enjoys her God-given place in life and strives to be a good steward of what she has been entrusted. She is prayerful and intentional about equipping her children for the world they live in. She embraces the fact that she is the woman God chose for this family at this place in history.

She is not perfect. She is not a cookie cutter. Her children do not always agree with her. She is not trying to raise children that worship her--she deflects the glory to her God. She does not allow the lies of the Enemy to creep into her head and torture her.

She points out her husband and children's strengths. She loves them in spite of their faults. She disciplines. She laughs. She loves. And in the end she recognizes that she has done neither the making or the saving and trusts God alone to finish the work He began.