Motherhood is exhausting.
Don't believe me? Lend me your ear as I tell you about my Sunday morning
I was in charge of teaching children at church, so I planned on arriving early. But after waking up at 5:30 a.m. to study my lesson and feeding and clothing my three children, the little one, who just mastered potty training, decided he needed to go to the bathroom FIVE TIMES before we could load into the van. Just about the time I go to lock the front door and head to the van myself, the oldest child runs out with a nose bleed. Did I mention she was wearing white jeans?? We stopped the bleeding, changed her pants, sprayed some Shout on the others and finally got on our merry way. Church was wonderful and refreshing, until the little one ran out of the bathroom with a naked butt for all to see. Next, I courageously took the terrific trio into Wal-mart where I endured the scornful stares of strangers as my lovely children displayed only their most horrendous behavior. I literally carried the little one out like a football as his BARE feet were flailing about. I breathed a sigh of relief as I pulled into our driveway, but the relief quickly turned to panic as I realized I had locked us out. of. the. house. Y'all, I declared right then and there: "I QUIT!!"
Motherhood is hard.
Motherhood is demanding.
Motherhood is indispensable.
Motherhood is a gift.
For as long as I can remember, I have never had a greater desire than the desire to be a mom. Perhaps it is because I had the best and I wanted to be just like her. Perhaps God placed the desire in my heart so that one day I would begin to understand the love he has for His children. Perhaps, the desire was purely selfish and I just wanted to have the experience of carrying cute little tiny humans who would love me and squeeze me and look up at me lovingly all the live long day. No matter the reason, motherhood is and will always be one of the greatest gifts God has bestowed upon me. True joy comes through pouring out ourselves for others and trusting God to fill us back up.
"God gave those little children to you, Mama....to you. No one else can mother them like you can. You may have your work cut out for you, but you're the one cut out to accomplish it."
I was recently inspired by a community of photographers committed to capturing self-portraits portraying motherhood. The idea was immediately appealing to me. I have longed for candid images of my children and me sharing special moments together. It never dawned on me that I could actually capture the images myself.
At first it felt a little strange, creating "candid" moments, and coaching the kids to act natural. But after leaving my camera on its tripod for a few days, we eventually got used to it and began to snap random pictures as we followed our normal routine. The results were delightful and heart-warming.
"Successful mothers are not the ones that have never struggled. They are the ones who never give up despite the struggles"
"If you think my hands are full, you should see my heart"
"Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn't know you had, and dealing with fears you didn't know existed"
"Even on the days you feel like you are failing, look around, I promise your kids still think you are the best mom in the whole universe."
"Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work"
"As a mother, my job is to take care of the possible and trust God with the impossible"
"A mother, living well, in her God-ordained role, is of great beauty and inestimable value to the future history of any generation"
