The Strength of Motherhood

These two boys make me strong.

Ultimately, I know my strength comes from God Himself, but my boys are often conduits of His strength. God is using these little ones to help shape me into the woman He wants me to be.  

As a mom, I have encountered more difficulties, more hardships, more emotional rawness than I had ever experienced before. Would you agree? Certainly, you don’t need to be a mom to have experiences like this. But if you are a mom, it is inevitable.

Being a mom is not a walk in the park.

We have been at our emotional breaking point with a screaming, colicky baby that refuses to nurse.

We have juggled a nursing baby in one arm and a puking child in the other.

We have watched ourselves scream and turn red, completely losing any sense of peace and patience.

We have battled bitterness and resentment towards husbands that carry on a social life while we are left juggling children. (Please do not read that wrong. We have some amazing men in our lives, I am sure of it. We sometimes just have our own issues to deal with.)

We have fielded question after question, and listened to nonsensical stories for hours upon hours.

We have dealt with poop, poop and more poop.

We have watched our children be hurt and bullied by other children, or have watched our own children bullying others.

We have felt our bodies be taken over by a tiny person that pulls, tugs, stretches, expands and rips us apart.

And although we often feel left broken, beat up, and drug through the fire, we wouldn’t trade it for the world. We somehow love these little people that are making us stronger.

We know in our souls that we were made for this.

Our true strength is not being forged in the gym with dumbbells. Yes, we will learn perseverance and fortitude there, for sure. But not always a deep strength, one that penetrates into the nooks and crannies of our souls. This strength comes from life.

Strength is forged in brokenness.

“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10)

In the hard moments of motherhood, if we pause for just a second we might see something. We might see God gazing at us with His gentle smile and saying “You got this. Look at who you are becoming.”

I want that smile to be continually before me. I want His love, encouragement and guidance to lead me through the daily mundane. Knowing that God is on my side, in control of all of it, laying out my path in front of me, I can step forward into the hardships of being a mom. This stuff is making us strong!

There is nothing that requires strength quite like motherhood. With my boys at just 5 and 3 years of age, I know I have just scratched the surface of what we will endure together. But, I can't wait to see the woman God shapes me into because of these boys. 

God is shaping you, momma. Your strength will be remarkable when He's finished. 

"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago." (Ephesians 2:10)

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​You may also be interested in reading Loving Your Body After Baby for a good perspective on the physical changes that motherhood brings. 

Also check out this post: Finding True Strength, to continue to understand where deep strength really comes from. ​