“The good news is that you don’t have to have it all together to be the mom God created you to be. All you need to do is let God lead you.” This is a distinct excerpt from Grow Your Baby, Grow your Faith, 7-Day Plan Devotional for Pregnant Moms by Help Club for Moms (http://helpclubformoms.com). The Biblical addition of Isaiah 40:11 beautifully buttresses this point.
“He will protect His flock like a shepherd,
He will gather the lambs in His arm,
He will carry them in His bosom;
He will gently and carefully lead those nursing their young.
(Isaiah 40:11 AMP)
How many of us wish that there was an A-Z book on “How to be a Great Mom”? (I have my hand raised up real high, by the way). However, in my 3 years of ‘mommyhood’, I have come to realise that there is no Cinderella glass slipper that fits all and there is absolutely no recipe for motherhood. It could be sweet today, salty tomorrow, spicy the next day or a blend of all these flavours in one day! Being a mom is like harnessing a skill with no right or wrong move. The reality of motherhood takes you from point A to M; Y to C and F to Z in a minute; it’s zig-zaggy; a rollercoaster but it’s all worth it.
So, What Makes A Great Mom?
A great mom is never too busy for her cubs and will move mountains to provide them with the best of things. A great mom corrects her child with love and doesn’t shy away from discipline (we’re literally raising someone’s future spouse and we don’t want that to be a rascal). According to flourishingmama.com, in their write-up entitled, What the Bible Says About Being a Good Mom: 9 Qualities You need, discipline does not mean punishment; it means training someone to follow the rules or code of behaviour (also see Proverbs 13:24). A great mom is approachable and a safe haven for her babies. A great mom is ready to jump in front of a bus (hope it never comes to that) to save her child. A great mom has incessant love to give and smiles giving it.
On par with all of above entries, a great mom also has rough days where she feels tired and may want to be left alone for some time and process her thoughts and that’s okay! Remember, a great mom does not have everything figured out (in fact, if you do then you’re not a great mom – lol). A great mom listens to wise counsel because she accepts help from others.
My Experience
As cliché as this may sound, I believe that great moms are, indeed, nestled and inherent in every woman. It’s nature! The woman who feels like a great mom, acts like a great mom. As a Christian, I do lean on God for strength and guidance and I find tranquillity in this personal chant, “after all, He (God) says in Psalm 139:13 that He made them (our children), so He will take care of them through us (hubby and I)”.
On the eve of my daughter’s 3rd birthday last year, I stayed up till the wee hours of the morning setting up a themed decoration for her (just because I was an overly excited mom who couldn’t believe that my baby girl was turning 3!) Only for the celebrant to wake up and not be as excited as I expected. Imagine my disappointment and lingering thoughts of whether I hadn’t done enough! However, about 20 minutes later, she was finally fully awake and soon got soaked in the ambience of her gifts and the decorations. It was only then that I realised that my baby was actually blown away by it all but assimilated the event slower than I had anticipated. It’s also possible that the child could’ve also woken up on the wrong side of the bed (yeah, that happens to them too at that age). From this experience, I learnt not to assume and that I’m doing the best I possibly can and I should be proud of myself.
Thank you for this, a great read.
We definitely don’t have it all together – it’s nice to know other mums experience the same things. Taking time out for yourself is so important and so so very hard to do sometimes. As a first time mum, I struggled with this initially but thankfully I have a hands-on husband who has his own bonding routines with our daughter. They go on long walks, sit in the garden and he tells her about the flowers. I use that time to relax and do me things. On some days it’s as refreshing as relaxing and on other days it’s as mundane as washing up stacked dishes. Lol
Looking forward to more posts ♥️
Thank you for the great feedback Toiyobong 🙂
Eventually, these routines slowly become your lifestyle.
I’m routing for you mama!
Love this and thank you. I feel encouraged ❤️
Thank you Fatimah! I really appreciate your feedback.
I can relate to the birthday part. Had the exact reaction on my son’s 2nd birthday and I was so puzzled, but he later came around. lol.
We definitely don’t have it all figured out, and we just keep pushing and asking God for guidance.
One thing I’ve come accustomed to doing is reflecting on my interactions with him through the day, tell myself the truth where necessary and adjust the next day (if possible 😄) all in all, well done mama bear ❤️❤️❤️
I love your contribution Kikelomo.
Thank you and well done too mama love