We moms don’t think of ourselves as courageous.
When you wake up in the morning, you can guess how the day will go. The toddler will demand breakfast. The kindergartener will dress himself in something strange. You will make all breakfasts and lunches within 30 minutes of your day and make the mad dash that is getting everyone out the door. You do your best to not ignore your husband as you tend to the children and the thought might cross your mind — what do I need today? — before you shove it aside to keep up with the clock.
The day continues in this manner (feed the dog, throw laundry in the wash, put away the dishes, wash dirty dishes (again), etc. etc.) until oldest children come home, dinner gets made, husband comes home, the desperate pleas to the children to go to bed begin, and you are finally able to collapse in bed only to begin again 7 hours later.
There are times when the day feels hectic, tiresome, plain.
Rarely heroic.
Definitely not brave.
And yet as God is calling me to be courageous this year I wonder, can motherhood be courageous?
Webster‘s defines courage simply as
the ability to do something that you know is difficult or dangerous
Contemplating courage, I look around at the mamas in the world and I see them persevering through the troubles of our fallen state within the world.
I see you, mamas, learning how to be mothers in the face of dangerous health complications, mental distress, and daily trials. You are courageous.
I see you, mama, nursing your child, supplementing with formula, trying to figure out why he or she is not gaining weight. You are courageous.
I see you, mommy, running to your child who just fell from the slide across the playground. You are courageous.
I see you, mama, walking your screaming child all hours of the night. You are courageous.
I see you, mommy, sending your child off to school with his special needs and unique behaviors. You are courageous.
I see you, mom, setting aside all of the work, the chores, the tasks in order to listen carefully to the thoughts and dreams of your child as you tuck her in at night.
Yes, you mama. Every day you prove that you are able to do the difficult. The dangerous.
You give of yourself without a second thought.
You provide daily needs to a child who might turn against you as a teen.
You love without abandon in a world of death.
Can motherhood be courageous? Yes, mama. Yes it can. And yes, mama. Yes, you are.
Motherhood is courageous. Motherhood is the ability to do something that you know is difficult and, at times, dangerous. Every day we mamas are courageous. It’s time for us to start acknowledging it, claiming it, living in it. And when we feel we are not, cannot, will not be courageous, we look to the One who is in us, who supplies it all, and find that courage is right there in Him, in us all along.
In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. – Jesus (John 16:33)
In case you’re wondering about the website in my graphic, The Toothless Grin will be moving with me to www.LeahDEverson.com very soon!!
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