It’s an odd thing. . .to feel so entitled yet so unworthy of all the Mother’s Day fuss.
I want a day set aside for me. To eat what I want, watch what I want and feel absolutely no guilt when I tell my precious offspring that the kitchen is closed or they’ll have to fend for themselves while mommy enjoys a “day off”.
But there’s a {large} part of me that feels I don’t deserve it. If I’d been living up to the unspoken ideal in my head of what a mother should be and do. . .then maybe I’d deserve a special day. If I didn’t lose it with my kids as often as I do. . .if I didn’t feel so incredibly annoyed and exhausted all the time. . .then maybe I’d be worthy of a little fuss.
But me? In the state I’ve been. . .in the mindset I’ve had as a mom {who begged for this life, by the way}. . .yeah, I don’t deserve it one bit.
Do you feel the same? Do you act like you don’t want anyone to make a fuss over you in the middle of May because secretly you feel unworthy of the attention and accolades? I’ve been fighting this feeling lately because I’m trying so hard to change the way I view this role I play. I’m learning that no matter how well or how poorly I think I do it. . . no matter what method I use or don’t use. . .I must own motherhood.
I must embrace this wild role of motherhood completely.
My friends Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan released a book this week called, Wild and Free. It’s a book for all women but as I read their words through the lens of a tired mom, I get fired up to finally embrace the wild and free ride of motherhood.
In chapter 7, Your Invitation Back to the Wild, Jess writes,
A wild woman speaks the native language of her Father – life. Because her father used phrases during creation like “let there be” and “this is good,” she knows her tongue is always at home speaking life.
I want to speak life into myself and my assignment as a mother. I haven’t been doing that. I’ve been allowing the lies of the enemy to resonate louder than the voice of the Father. But this Mother’s Day I’m giving myself the gift of truth. I’ve talked about freedom around here for a while now; I’m slowly breaking through the lies in order to live wild and free.
Do you need freedom to live wild and free this Mother’s Day?
In the book, Jess and Hayley begin with an incredible anthem for women who long to live in the fullness of God available to his daughters. . .
We can walk wildly in who God created us to be. . .We do not have to be confined or conformed by cultural expectations. We are unchained from our past and unafraid of our future. . .
There’s more. But I’ll let you get the book and read it for yourself. It’s the kind of thing you need to read in the quiet of your own space so you can shout “yes and amen!” without fear. But I promise you, by the time you are through with the book you’ll be willing to shout wild and free no matter your location. . .on the front porch as you wait for your children to get home from school. . .at the soccer field as you watch them play. . .at the grocery store as you embrace the ordinary, mundane responsibilities of motherhood. Your wild and free response may not be audible but it will be visible in your countenance. In the smile on your face that signifies pleasure in your role as a mom. Through the peace in your eyes in the midst of a crazy day.
As I approach Mother’s Day with an overwhelming feeling that I just don’t deserve all the fuss, I’m remembering the truth about who I am in Christ. As they say in the book, the world would like for us to believe that we are both too much and never enough. Our feeble minds couldn’t possibly reconcile these two extreme messages which come at us from every corner, every day.
But our Father tells us we are worthy, perfectly enough, wild and free. He calls us to live in the holy calling of motherhood with this certainty.
And this Mother’s Day, he wants for us to celebrate the woman he created us to be and to run freely and confidently in her skin.
This is your call, your anthem of motherhood. Embrace it. Own it.
Because it looks beautiful on you.
Do you need to live wild and free as a mom? What gift can you give yourself this Mother’s Day to begin embracing motherhood?
You guys seriously do not want to miss this book! Grab it as a Mother’s Day gift for yourself or your best friend. Gather with your mom friends this summer and host a book club. The conversations that this book will encourage will be life-changing!
Wild and Free: A Hope Filled Anthem for the Woman Who Feels She is Both Too Much and Never Enough
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