Motherhood: The best kind of hard

Today was hard. The kids were extra obnoxious, disobedient and just plain crazy. There were moments when I handled them with patience and authority and other moments when I did not handle them well at all. Some days I feel like a child myself; not wanting to do what I know I need to do. Is there really ever a point where you know what you are doing?  I hope so, but for now I know I have so much to still learn about parenting.

Just when I think I have things under control, my children's and my sin nature throw me for a loop. I wish I could say that knowing the right thing to do was as easy as doing it, but it's just not so. I need God's grace every moment of the day. I need it when I am reacting well to a situation and I need it when I want to lash out in anger at a rebellious child.

I find myself apologizing throughout the day as I do what I know I shouldn't do. Thankfully my children are the sweetest(as well as the craziest.) They continually surprise me and overwhelm me with their forgetful forgiveness and continuous love. It's funny how they can bring me to tears of frustration as well as tears of joy.

Motherhood is hard. There is no two ways about it. Whether you have given birth to your children or God has put them in your heart through adoption or a blended family. The sleepless nights, the endless cleaning, the never ending cries of hunger, the disobedience, the temper tantrums, the whining, the vomit, the poop...

Though there are some rough days in motherhood, I really can't imagine a better kind of hard.

It's easy to get bogged down and overwhelmed by motherhood when we think about all we have to do and is expected of us, but we truly have been given such a great gift...

The gift of dying to ourselves daily for the ones we love.

The gift of learning to put the needs of others above ourselves.

The gift of seeing our great need for the Saviour's grace and strength to make it through each day.

The gift of being loved unconditionally no matter how much we mess up and fail.

The gift of being pushed beyond what we ever thought we were capable of.

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith  in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20

When we remember that our lives our not our own and that they have been bought with a price, our perspective changes. It reverts off of ourselves and onto Jesus; allowing us to see through his eyes. When we allow Christ to live through us, ministering to the needs of our children and families we can see even the hardest situations and circumstances as the best possible use of our time and strength.

We are not just cleaning up food off the floor, wiping boogers, comforting hurt feelings and kissing boo boos; we are doing a kingdom work as mothers... that will last on into eternity.

Yes, today and many days of motherhood are hard, but they are the best kind of hard I could ever imagine.

Have you had a hard day in mothering? Know that God's grace is there for you. He is able to make it abound to you in whatever hardship you face. He is able to allow you to find joy in the midst of the chaos and see the gift and blessing that motherhood really is.

How is God refining you and making you more like him through motherhood?

How is motherhood harder than you imagined? How is it better?

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