This is a post from Kathy Helgemo of Mothering from Scratch
I am continually amazed at how every mom has her own story. I have been blessed by many women telling me about their mothering lives. This started long ago, before and after I had children.
It seemed that God was telling me that here was His mission field for me. I needed to get used to the need, get used to the pain, and urge them to bring their hearts to Him.
It’s the mom in the grocery store starring into space as she walks around with her newborn in the cart. Wandering aimlessly, looking for something, anything to jog her memory of what she needs.
“Good morning! Are you looking for anything? Oh, I know what you are looking for. You’re looking for a few extra minutes of sleep that you need….,” I’ll say just to have her look up. Sometimes, a smile comes over her face when she knows that empathy exists — even in the aisles of the grocery store.
It’s the mom who somehow thinks that I, of all people, have it all together and suddenly sees that I don’t. She’s relieved. Frankly, so am I. The false fantasy that other moms are just somehow more capable than us is blown out of the water. The attack on that mom’s conscience from the enemy is instantly halted. Indeed, the more we are able to expose the truth about our inadequacies in areas we know others would benefit, sets other moms free! Free indeed!
It’s the mom who confides in you about something very, very painful. The loss of a child. Addiction. Abuse. Marital problems. We have to open our arms, hearts and minds to their struggles even though we may have never been in their situation – especially if we have. Everyone knows pain.
Thankfully, Christ knows all pain. He is the answer knowing that we as moms have an advocate for our suffering. His Mother suffered, too. She provides for us a model of how strong mothers truly are. We have to be faithful to His calling to be His hands and feet when someone needs an empathetic ear.
Yes, moms have stories. The need and pain we all have in areas of our lives will never go away, but the grace and mercy of Our Lord is always there. Christ calls us to work the mission field of our fellow home missionaries and help them to help others.
Our stories will never end, thanks to the Cross. No matter where every moms story has started, what chapters they have held, they will always end in victory thanks to their Author.
