Happy New Year Moms! Wow, a new year...new opportunities, new goals, a new me, a new mom. Are these your thoughts at the beginning of a new year? I resolve to be a better mom, to be more physically fit, to be better with my finances, to be a better wife to my husband. We dive right in and suddenly find ourselves smashing into the bottom of the pool. As soon as that first mistake or failure comes (and it will) we "beat" ourselves up--how could I; I was supposed to be better at this--or we completely blow off the whole idea. Does that sound familiar? In all honesty, it certainly does for me.
I have been thinking and praying a lot about this upcoming New Year. I do not want to overwhelm myself with lots of resolutions or put pressure on myself to finally be "supermom" nor to give up altogether on everything. So, I have been talking with God about this very thing. Lord, how can I be a better mom? How can I raise these children You have entrusted me with in a way that honors you? I feel overwhelmed at the responsibility and tend to be quite hard on myself whenever I fail. I have finally learned after about 7 1/2 years of parenting that failure (as I call it) is inevitable. I will make mistakes and need to ask for God's forgiveness, which of course He lovingly always gives. I even need to ask my kids for forgiveness often, good grief!
I must remember, God's view of me is not a failure at all. He loves me no matter what! And this is the very thing I have been trying to instill into my children. There is nothing you can do, to stop God from loving you. His love is unconditional.
This is the sign that hangs above my oldest son's door in his room. We made this sign when he was 5, I think. We made it because I wanted him to remember that this is what God says is the most important thing for us to do as Christians.
So, as I have been talking with God, He has reminded me not only of His view of me, but also of the most important thing in life. Jesus says in Matthew 22:37-39, that to love God and to love our "neighbor" is the first and greatest commandment. This is the number one most important thing we can do to honor Him.
Therefore, when I ask God, "How can I honor you as a mom?" His answer...to love Him and to love others and to teach my children to do the same. Just making this my one focus for the New Year is so much better than resolving to be "supermom."
The bible says that without love, I am nothing. I love how The Message says it in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, "If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love."
LOVE is the most important thing I can give, show, and teach my children. And I have learned that the more I know God's love and "fill" myself up with His love, the more I can show that love to others. When my "cup" is filled and overflowing with God's love, then others will have that love come pouring over to them! Is that not amazing! And, loving others becomes easy, not a chore or something else I need to add to my "to do" list. When I know God's love, I naturally want to love others!
I plan to blog more on this in the New Year. So, prayerfully resolve with me to know and experience God's love this year. Dive into His overwhelming love because when you do, I believe we will all be suddenly surprised to not smash into the bottom of the pool, but instead, to soar through the water, splashing His love joyfully onto others.
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