Goodbye Grumpy Mom: Say Hello To Renewed JoySample

REFRESHMENT IS COMING 

I had valid reasons to be grumpy. Or so I told myself. The past several weeks had been pushing all my mom buttons: my workload was overwhelming; my youngest daughter, Vana, was teething; my oldest daughter, Vivi, was constantly whining; and my husband, Tyler, kept having to work late. The world had handed me my scepter and crown and made me Lady Grumpy Mom over all Woerner-land and beyond. 

My days consisted of walking around on pins and needles waiting for (and dreading) the moment one of my two bundles of joy would burst into tears or whines. When the house was quiet—if they were giggling together or playing quietly in their separate corners—instead of enjoying the moment of peace, I braced myself to release Grumpy Mom as soon as I got orders to pounce. 

I never wanted this for motherhood. The tricky thing about our struggle is that we don’t always realize we’re in a battle. But as I dug deeper, I started to see a common starting point for many of my less than joy-filled moments. 

The world’s view of motherhood: 

1. Moms can’t function without coffee. 

2. A trip to Target with the kids rivals a day in prison. 

3. Is it wine-thirty yet? 

To the world, #thisismotherhood. The gospel says #noitsnot. Sure, these everday challenges are part of our reality, but this isn’t the full hope-filled picture of the gospel.  

So how do we find joy without escaping motherhood? How do we find hope and laughter when we’re on our hands and knees cleaning crumbs from under the table . . . for the third time today? 

This may sound simplistic, but it’s a game changer: we identify the lies and replace them with truth. We live out Romans 12:2, which is the anthem for anyone who wants to send Grumpy Mom on a holiday. I love how The Message words Romans 12:2: “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.” Without even thinking. That’s exactly the danger—that we accept the world’s subpar version of motherhood without realizing we could be living something better. The things that are stealing your joy may be things you’ve never even noticed. 

But here’s where hope comes in: we can experience joy as we start to recognize the lies and renew our minds. Then we’ll start to discover soul refreshment like a much-needed vacation, even if in reality you’re reading this from a dimly lit closet, hiding from your kids.  

These devotions are adapted from Grumpy Mom Takes a Holiday by Valerie Woerner. To learn more about how to identify the lies that can sabotage your joy in motherhood and learn the truth to replace those lies with, visit https://amzn.to/2DuZgPz.