Motherhood: The Freedom Of Not Being Enoughಮಾದರಿ

Rejoicing in our Weakness

“You are enough.” You’ve probably heard that phrase on loop – especially if you’re a mom. It’s the same mantra repeated over and over again, till we’ve likely come to accept it as truth. 

But, are you and I really enough? Is this well-intentioned phrase failing us as Christian moms?

When you’ve just walked in the house weighed down by grocery bags, the baby’s car seat, and a tired heart, do you really have what it takes to respond patiently to your toddler’s tantrum? When you’ve finished a long day’s work with screaming deadlines and unsympathetic bosses, do you have the reserves to play with your little energizer bunny? When you’ve heard your tween snap at you more times than not, do you have the grace to not snap back?

This may sound disenfranchising, but you and I are never enough. No one is. And that’s why we need Jesus. 

In acknowledging our ‘never-enoughness,’ we find strength because we fix our eyes on the One who is always enough. You don’t have to look within yourself and scrape out reserves which are running on empty. You don’t have to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and keep pushing through. You don’t have to prove your worth to yourself or to anyone else. 

When you acknowledge that you’re not enough, you have the wonderfully-freeing option of saying, “Jesus, I can’t do this. Please take over.” His strength is made perfect in our weakness. 

Lean In

Father, sometimes, being a parent is hard. I simply don’t have what it takes. Thank You for the freedom I have in acknowledging that I am not enough. Thank You for asking us to cast all our burdens on You because You alone give us real rest. Amen.