Mother of the Year - NOT!!

So, I've been thinking a lot about this mom thing.  Especially now that my kids are almost grown.  With one a senior in high school and one a senior in college it weighs even heavier on my mind.  I am so not the mother of the year and never will be and every day there is something that I think I could have done different or better but then I have to remind myself that it's not about me. 

Being a mother, really isn't about me.  All I am or should be is a conduit.  A conduit of knowledge, discipline, love and most importantly God's love for the gift that He entrusted to me.  I hear and probably have said more than once the phrase, "my kids are my world" and lately I've decided that phrase is a sad statement about me.  Should I love my kids - yes.  Should I support them in every way - yes.  But my world should be first and foremost about God.  About seeking Him and being all that He would ask me to be.  If my kids are my world then it's all about me.  It's all about my life and that's not what being a mom should be about. 

I wish I had learned this a little earlier in life.  Hindsight is always twenty-twenty and so many things I might have done better or different but the reality is that we are here in today and not in yesterday and I'm not guaranteed tomorrow.  So if my kids are my world then I will soon be very lost.  Because they are about to spread their wings and their time in my world will change. 

Oh they will always be my babies but being "my world" is a burden they should never have to bear and the same goes for me.  I can't be "their world".  They are destined to great things and God given blessings that will draw them into their worlds where they will hopefully seek God above all else.  I'm sure I could point my finger at things I might have done right or wrong and probably pass judgment on every mother I come across about their wrongs or rights but that's not my place.  As a mom, my place is to love - to show love - to live love and to be love for them.  To teach them to love and have kindness and compassion.  To teach them the most important thing I know. 

When you have Jesus as your world - He is enough.  He will fill all the holes and gaps - not work, not school, not other people, not your spouse or your kids.  Just Jesus.  Our time is limited and the only message I should live and teach that should be louder than all others is just that one thing - Just Jesus.  He is what you need and He will be with you. 

Romans 8:28 says "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[have been called according to his purpose."  His plan is for good - that doesn't mean there won't be hard or challenging times where I question my parenting or their choices.  But if I truly believe that Jesus is all we need then I have to trust that His plan is far greater than mine ever will be and He will see it through to the end. 

So make the most of today and lead by example.  Spend time with Jesus as the center of your life so your kids will see how He lifts and encourages and sustains you.  Don't expect them to be your world or stay in your world and don't expect to always be the center of theirs.  It's unrealistic and will destroy you both.  I pray that as the days run so quickly ahead that I will do just that.  Love Jesus enough that they see He is enough. 

Oh, and one more thing.  As mommas never judge the other mommas.  We all are different people and our kids are never the same.  Don't judge yourself either by comparing to other mommas.  You are the mom God gave your kids.  Your gifts are exactly what they needed or He would have given them to someone else.  Your purpose is just that - love Him and love them through Him.  It's not easy and never will be so we all need is to love the other mommas and ourselves.  We don't know the burdens they carry and they don't know ours.  Remember - God loves you - just You and He will care for your kids - after all He created them.  You don't have to be God - just a mom seeking just Jesus.

I'll end with this.  I'm not the Mother of the Year - neither or you.  It's a good thing really because that would be a burden I wouldn't want to bear.  I'm not perfect - I learned that lesson a long time ago - and that's a story for another day.