Just a Mom

 If you would have asked me 15 years ago, what do you see yourself doing 10-15 years from now? My answer would have been completely different, than what I am actually doing right now. ( I think this may hold true for many people in general.) I am a full time wife/mom, homeschool mom, And part time teacher.

Photo credit: Bnatural Photography

   I was famous for downplaying my role as a mother, it's what I did for a long time. When friends or family ask you what you're doing and you tell them you're raising your kids, (and now homeschooling) the look on their faces is priceless. As if to say that's it? I thought that what I was doing was insignificant. I felt like I wasn't doing anything (which was far from the truth) and that I wasn't on the right path. What am I doing?  God did a number on me; he used my husband and a few women in my life to show me how important it is to just be a mom. Clara my( grandmother) was a mother to 14 children and countless grandchildren. She passed away in February 2015. She spoke Spanish hardly any English, when she passed away I was sad, because I thought I didn't know her. I wrote a poem for my grandmother and God showed me just how well I did know my grandma.  My Abuela had 14 children that she raised, 14. Can you imagine how much patience that takes? Think about what she dealt with from the time she woke up in the morning until the time she went to bed. She was an amazing woman of God with a servants heart. And it was seen all throughout her life even when she spent time with us. Then there is Irma (my mom's mother) she stayed home and raised her children. She made my mother's prom dress (which was beautiful) She instilled values in her children. We learn what to do and sometimes we learn what not to do from our moms and other women in our lives. We take what we can use and discard what doesn't work for us. Irma knows that she can craft her butt off. She is a great cook, she makes beautiful quilts and can crochet like nobodies business. She is one of the tidiest people I have ever met in my life. She loves the Lord, reads her Bible and prays. She did start working when she was older.  She is a wonderful woman and she too is guilty of downplaying her role. I am blessed to have an awesome mother as well. She let us know that anything is possible. Many of the things that are listed. I learned from her.

Just being a mom in all it's glory.

  I recently had the pleasure of talking to my sis in love and my best friend about motherhood and seasons on two separate occasions. See, to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under Heaven. (Ecc 3:1) When I started to view it like this, everything made sense. My husband and I made a decision that I would stay home and raise our children. I'm not sure at the time I knew what that completely entailed. In the here and now I choose my family. If I died 10 years from now and I was just a wife and mom. I would be more than okay with that (please Lord don't let that statement be true though I want to live until I am 100.) Moms are so significant to the body of Christ. We are the managers of the household.  We fasted last week. And of course I wondered am I don't this correctly? I was in my word, worshiping and praising, praying. I thought that I was left wordless. Then Sunday came and it was time to share our experience. Last year God told me that I couldn't do it all. Which was a hard pill to swallow at first.This year I kept seeing the word patience. As if he was just saying look around at your children, do you see the difference a whole year makes, what you are now able to accomplish. You wont always be in this season of your life, but while you are enjoy it, enjoy your kids while they are little, enjoy your husband. I took that all in. See, to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose.

I have the Youversion Bible app on my phone and I utilize it often. They have a boatload of Bible plans that one can choose from. One of my favorite Bible Plans is called God's Gift to Families: Moms.
Mom is a disciple. "The Holy Spirit does his best work in Christian homes. And among his chiefest and most valuable assistants are Christian mothers." I'm going to paraphrase it goes on the explain that most people are brought to faith by their parents, but it was mom who seriously discipled them. Moms are at home reading bible stories to their children, teaching them christian songs and showing them how to pray.

 We moms are an example to our children. We are the ones praying over our children when their behavior is less than savory, when they are sick and just in every day life. We can help them set healthy spiritual habits, eating habits, learning habits. I praise and worship like there is no tomorrow, singing loudly, dancing, arms stretched wide. My children see that. I pray out loud whenever the spirit moves me to do so about whomever is put upon my heart. My children see that. I write in my prayer journal, my 7 year old daughter now has her own. We memorize scripture together, because I want that imprinted upon our hearts. I encourage questions, if I don't have the answer, we research the answer together. We encourage honesty and truth telling. I encourage saying I'm sorry  (forgiveness). I encourage showing love and kindness. I encourage helping others ( I just stopped to blow up the whoopee cushion my 2 year old son loves to play with, also I am being served pretend food by the girls who are currently making me pretend desserts...see helping lol) I encourage getting back up after you have fallen, trying a different route if the first way failed. I clean and cover boo boos or kiss them. We have dance parties, we tickle each other senseless, we laugh and joke. I serve children 3 meals a day (shout out to my husband who is a major help with dinner) We show them that they should do something that they love and are passionate about. Which doesn't always mean what you love is going to be easy. I talk to people when I'm out. I make mistakes and I apologize when I do. I am an example to my son on what qualities to look for in a wife. I am an example to my daughters on how to be a wife and mom. We discipline our children, so we can show them right from wrong. Moms loves fiercely. Moms encourage, we lend advice to our girlfriends and family members. We offer our friendship to our children ( My mom is one of my most cherished friends) Moms teach kids their history. We show them that we can be entrepreneurs.  Did I mention we pray? Moms are in their word always learning. Moms and children are the originators of book clubs. We nurse our children, which is one of the most intimate things a mother and child can do. We show our children that we can overcome brokenness, that God is a healer and he can restore all things. (We do this by talking to our children when we deem age appropriate, or when God reveals to you to share your story). We share, so that our children don't make the mistakes that we made. They can bypass some of our pitfalls, because I want my children to be better than I am. We push ourselves. We teach them to be artists. We show them our love for life and music. We teach our children how to negotiate
 (when we're on the phone getting that overdraftt fee back lol). We stay true to ourselves even if the outcome is unfavorable. We show what it looks like to surrender all to God.  We nurture them in all aspects of their life. And our children see all of this. We are lioness'  and there's nothing a lioness won't do for her family. I always tell my oldest daughter that it's my job to instill values in you, teach you how to be responsible for yourself.  When it's time for you to go out into the world I have raised a young woman of God. You in turn can go out into the world and be a fully functioning member of society that can contribute.

I chose to give birth to my son (no 3) naturally after having an epidural with both girls. It was an intense experience, one that I will never forget and always cherish. It taught me how to be in tune with my body to listen to the cues that it was giving me. And later I learned how to do the same thing with my spirit, to be in tune with my spirit and listen to the Holy Spirit who guides us and what he is telling me in the moment. In the same way we give birth to children, that is how our gifts are conceived in our wombs, and for many of us our gifts/ideas are just waiting for us to give birth to them. We as women have the power to house life, and nourish it. My husband and I were talking last night and women can save peoples souls by just being a mother, mothering their own biological kids and other peoples kids, Showing these kids UNCONDITIONAL love and compassion. Moms let the love of Christ shine through, so they can shower it on whomever they come into contact with.
That is what just being a mom looks like.