 |
| Photo credit Rachelle Chase Photography |
I tried to find photos in my phone that represented real life, the thick of it, in the throws of a storm.
So you won't see those on my Instagram or Facebook feed. I didn't snap a photo because I am covered in cake batter and snot (that isn't mine) and desperately stretching to reach the roll of paper towels for the pee I just stepped in.
And I don't even get paid for this.
In fact, I heard multiple times from both of my kids this week that they were going to "buy" a new Mom. We have been talking about being a wise steward with our monies, and our daughter recently decided to start giving money to Church without our prompting at all. So basically, a brief glimpse of seeing a "winning" moment as a parent quickly faded as my frugal daughter also decided that it would be a wise investment to buy a new Mom.
#winning
#parentoftheyear
#bestmomever
Let's be super real and honest- parenting can really suck. But you won't see that when you scroll. You often see angled, filtered, staged photos and a tagline of something precious.
Is it false advertising of what our real, every day lives are like? No. This parenting thing is crazy hard and sometimes I just want to capture the beauty of that moment and share that ray of sunshine with the world. It's my virtual diary to go back and reflect on sweet moments when I'm drowning in the thick of it.
The honest truth is that my children are rotten little sinners and I myself am the most selfish person in the house. Yet for some reason I am tasked with being their Mom. And a wife to an incredibly humble and patient man that for the life of me I don't understand why on earth he picked me to be his bride 8 years ago.
When I am weak and (extra) sassy, my husband is the one to point me where to go. He is a great man, but he can't be my everything. It is because of his pointing me to go to my Maker that I have become more secure in my identity in Christ, being saved by grace (because for the few things I do right and well, I sure make a hot mess of much more) and re-learning constantly that I am daughter to the Most High King. I am His and He is mine.
~
At the end of a get-me-through-this-day, suffocating week, I have all the feels. Yet the more I root myself in Christ, His Truths and remember where my identity lies, those feelings I had carry less weight. And I find straight up lies that I have been thinking, believing and spewing.
I too often get worn down, feel worthless, like what I'm doing is pointless, I've disapointed ____, I just suck at everything- why keep trying, I can't do anything right, I really AM the worst Mom, I'm ruining my kids.... and the lies go on and on and on.
When the book of Jeremiah tells me that my heart is full of deceit and wickedness (Jeremiah 17:9) I have to ask myself how much of these lies are getting in the way of Gospel Truth.
IF I am in Christ, and I read this passage in Ephesians, my whole heart and mind will be FLIPPED.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:4-10(ESV)
I am a mess and I know this. I don't take pride in it. My goal is not to boast or give a reason for someone to get jealous. When I post sweet photos, they are my moments of rejoicing in the midst of my own fight song for life. I don't have any hope that life will get easier as my kids grow, or with our business or ministry. But I do have this hope in Christ. So I won't walk through these hard times alone. And when I rejoice, I want to shout it from the rooftops!
 |
| Photo credit Rachelle Chase Photography |
