From the World's #2 Mom

My son Peyton is the origami master at our house.  We have folded paper all over the place.  He makes some pretty awesome creations (we have our whole family in origami form, clothes and all).  He once gave me an origami trophy that he wrote “World’s #1 Mom!” on.  Except, because of how Peyton writes his “1”s, it looked like “World’s #2 Mom!”  I get a kick out of it because it kind of sums up how I feel about my motherhood - just not quite perfect.  Not a 10, but closer to a 9.  Not 100%, but maybe 90%.  Not 1st place, but second…ish…on a good day.

As a mom I often say the wrong things or say the right things the wrong way.  I struggle to be consistent with discipline and often give too much correction.   Sometimes I forget to give hugs and other times I smother the poor kids.  I don’t think I have ever felt like I have this position mastered.  If I did, it probably came right before screwing up.  Like forgetting to pick my kid up from practice. Or leaving one behind at church (twice).  Or consistently calling them by the dog’s name.
My guess is that you often feel the same way.  I want to let you know that this is an okay place to be - in fact, it is an awesome place to be.  Motherhood is God’s gift to remind us that there is no way we can do this parenting thing without Him.  No matter how much we love them, we are incapable of raising our kids well without being fully dependent on Him every day.

God uses “second-rate” moms like us because there are no other types.  All of us fall short of perfection because there is no such thing as a perfect person, only a perfect God (see Rom. 3:10 and Ps. 18:30).  So if we are his, we can rejoice that he will work through us.  He will use these jars of ordinary clay that we are for extraordinary purposes.  “Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.” 2 Cor. 4:7.  We are clay, not gold, so any shine that we display comes from him.

So as we celebrate Mother’s Day this weekend and words of love and praise come your way, be thankful and gracious but direct ALL glory to God.  He alone is the cause of any good that comes out of what we do as mothers.  He deserves all the credit.  “…I will not boast about myself, except in my weaknesses.” 2 Cor. 12:5. 
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Direct your children to the awesomeness of God and tell them that he is their perfect Father who will never forget them, leave them behind or use the wrong name!