Just a mom?

By -
A while ago my husband was in a conversation with someone and they asked if I was still teaching.  When Luke informed them that I was at home with our kids now, they made the comment: "Oh, she's just a mom."  

 Even though the comment wasn't intended to cause harm, Luke pointed out that he thinks the phrase "just a mom" shouldn't be used.  Being a mom is a very special and demanding job, and should be highly regarded.  I was proud of my husband for defending a role that I fill that many times does not receive much recognition or praise in this work-driven world.

 It got me thinking about the word: just.  It has several meanings but in this context it carries this one:

 "just": no more than; merely; only

 She's no more than a mom.  She's merely a mom.  She's only a mom.

 How many times has a mom heard this phrase "Oh, you're just a mom." and wondered if she's missing something.  If she's somehow less-than.  Or if she's not doing enough.  Or not doing what matters.

 Isn't a mom more than a mom?  Isn't she also a wife, a cook, a cleaner, a boo boo healer, a referee, a planner, a story-teller, etc?  I'd say that most moms are more than just moms.  And really, even if they were "just moms", wouldn't that be enough? 

 Being a mom is hard and wonderful at the same time.  And I can't imagine a better job to have.  

 Yes, I need to find creative ways to actually rest because I live in my workplace. 

 Yes, there are days that I cannot wait for their father to return home and take them off my hands!  

 Yes, sometimes I wish I got paid to do this!  (Wouldn't that be nice? Ha ha!)

 But mostly I am thankful for these precious years that I'm told fly by all too fast.  I'm thankful I can be with my kids.  I can teach them and learn with them.  I can enjoy their discoveries and enter into their incredibly imaginative worlds.  I can love them and thank God for them.  

I can be their mom.  And not just their mom.  









 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Debriefing and Renewal

By -
Image
Luke and I had the opportunity to attend a DAR (Debriefing and Renewal) seminar the last week of July.  It was held at Mission Training International in Palmer Lake, Colorado.  This program was for any missionaries who had spent time on the mission field and were coming back to the US for a time. Topics included: stress, burn-out, soul care, healthy goodbyes and hellos, etc. We took this week as a wonderful gift from God.  We were very thankful that an anonymous donation came in to pay for more than half the cost of the conference!  And an added blessing was that our kids could spend the week with their Grammie and GrandDad, leaving us with kid-free meal times and evenings - a great chance to hang out with others or process what we'd been learning each day.   Though the program is pricey, we found it very helpful and would highly recommend it to any missionary who has spent any amount of time on the mission field.  It is so well worth it.  He...
Read more

The best things in life

By -
Image
In preparation for taking communion last Sunday, one of the elders of our church posed this question: "Are the best things in life earned or received ?" Immediately I thought of the best things in my life: my husband, my kids, God's overwhelming love, and Christ's salvation. And then I thought: There is no way I earned (or deserve) my husband's love.  He loves me for who I am, flaws and all.  He loves me no matter what kind of day I've had, the way I have treated him, or if I have failed in some area. And then my kids.  They are pure gifts!  Yes, they are definitely received....received with much gratitude, awe, and trepidation at the weight of the responsibility to raise them. And finally, God's amazing love and grace displayed through His gift of His Son.  Not earned, but received.  Because a gift, a true gift, is received, not earned.   I've lived much of my life trying to attain some degree of perfection or acceptance from o...
Read more

A Small Detail

By -
Image
One of the tiniest things I brought with me when we moved back to Nicaragua in June was this little nut.   If you have done any kind of move overseas (and especially with kids!) you know that little things like this rarely get packed.  Especially as you wade through all of your "decision-requiring stuff": clothes, shoes, books, DVD's, papers, kitchen stuff, that random broken thing, that paper clip or magnet, that thing you forgot you had and maybe you would use it now that you found it, and on and on. It takes months of sorting, selling, giving away, packing, etc to finally be prepared with those bags that are only supposed to be 40 lbs.  Granted, this nut weighs nothing but how did it make the cut?  Better yet, how did I not lose track of it in an international move?        I'm not exactly sure how to answer the above questions but this I do know: though little in size, this nut reminds ...
Read more