Overwhelmed by My Blessings: Encouragement for Moms (Part 4)Sýnishorn

How will I ever be able to teach my kids all they need to know? What if I have them in the wrong school, or missed a sport they might have excelled at? What if they were supposed to be a musician and we didn’t have the means needed for them to take lessons? What if I’m not enough for them? What if I ruin them?

We are the mom. We are supposed to be there for them and make sure they go in the right direction and don’t fail. Right?

Our unending fears and anxieties over being “just the right mom,” covering all the bases, and providing the right opportunities is exhausting. We find ourselves hoping they won’t have to spend their adult years on a therapist’s sofa because of us. It’s all overwhelming and leaves us questioning the future.

Somehow, we’ve been conditioned to believe a mom is everything. Perfect. Pinterest perfect. We know our own moms couldn’t meet that expectation, yet we have the idea that we will be different. Better.

Hold on. I have some news for you. You aren’t enough.

Did the air just leave your lungs? Take a deep breath and say it with me, “I am not enough for my kids.”

And that’s ok. It’s more than ok, and this is why: If we were enough for our kids, they would have no need of Jesus! We were given them for a short time to demonstrate his love to them, to teach them his ways, and to raise them in the way they should go---toward him! It’s a high calling, greater than most any other. The best news is that He loves our children even more than we do, which seems impossible. He will make sure they learn all they need, have all they need, and be all they need. Because He is enough!

Now, hopefully that realization and declaration gives you some newfound freedom! Post it on a note to view often: I am not enough, but He is! May you stop beating yourself up, carrying your guilt, and instead begin walking in freedom today.

“There is no higher calling in life than the task of bearing and raising the children whom God has trusted to our care.” ~ Dr. James Dobson

Father, thank you for being enough. Help me rest in that truth, believing that you have gone before me and are making a way for my children, even now. Help me live in the freedom that I am not enough, but that you are more than enough! May your peace and presence flood my heart as I rest in you, trusting you with the future of my children.