Who knew that parenting would be this hard? Who knew there would be ten thousand details to keep up with all day, every day (including, "Mommy have you seen that little, plastic guy that I got at Wal-Mart 3 years ago?") Who knew there was a mommy competition we were automatically entered into the day we gave birth? And yes, if you gave birth by C-Section YOU CERTAINLY GAVE BIRTH! I had a"friend" tell me one time that it didn't count as actual childbirth because my baby was born via C-Section. Umm, hello! Have you seen what a C-Section entails? Moving on, who knew how frequently we would fail our kids? Or how much they would hurt? Who knew we would constantly worry our kids would end up on the therapy couch?
OK, I admit I don't always worry about that, but I do wonder if I will ever be enough as a mom. Then I read this verse in Matthew 10:25, : "It is enough for the student to be like his teacher."
When the student (that's us) becomes like her teacher (Jesus) our failures and reservations as moms take the back burner as the sweet spirit of Jesus covers us. Our kids won't remember every paper we forgot to sign, how we didn't tie their shoes just right, or that we fed them hot dogs every night (guilty!) They will forget how we blew off bath time because mommy and daddy were too tired and how we begged them to watch Dora the Explorer for 30 minutes of silence. What they will remember is how we prayed with them and how we listened to their dreams and fears, no matter how ridiculous they might be. ("No, Keller I promise the fence outside the window does not turn into fingers that want to grab you.") That won't forget how we took care of them or someone else when they were hurting. They will remember how quickly we were to laugh, but slow to judge. They will recall how wildly we loved them with every fiber of our being.
The right schools, the right teams, the right house... not enough.
Perfect systems, by-the- book methods, unsolicited advice... not enough.
It is enough for me to show patience when I want to stick my fingers in my ears and scream right along with my two year old. It is enough to choose mercy when my kids have made the same mistake once again. It is enough to imitate my Christ, who never jumped through hoops, but transformed history through grace and sacrifice. You are enough as a mother when you act like your Redeemer. When you talk like He talked, love like He loved, forgive like he forgave and teach like He taught. When you launch your children into this big, exciting, wonderful world, that is all that will matter. It is what they will remember and imitate.
It is enough.
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