PEP TALK for moms

This one's for all you supermoms. Yep, I'm looking at you. 

Since the day my daughter was born, I've become completely in awe of moms everywhere. Once I learned just how demanding and consuming motherhood is, I see things with new eyes, almost as if I had a LASIK procedure performed on my heart. Things are so much clearer to me now.  

I can't tell you how many times I've thought how does she do that? as I watch moms around me just doing what they do. (AKA, being AWESOME.)

Like when I see the mom at Target wrangling her four children under four and I think it's the most amazing feat I've ever witnessed. (Now I ask her if she could use a hand.) Or when I see the mom's Facebook posts about being glued to her baby's isolette in the NICU, never wanting to leave, and I wonder where she finds her strength? Surely I would never survive a trial of that magnitude. (Now I actually pray for her instead of just saying I will.) Or when I hear a baby losing it's little mind in a restaurant, I no longer feel aggravation, but instead compassion. (We all have those moments with our babies. We just want to enjoy a dinner out too!)

If you're a mom, you've had a moment like this. In fact, you've had countless unseen moments just like this, when it's just you and your baby. I could list so many examples, but they're all the same really. Selflessness. Unconditional love. Pushing through the hard moments and reveling in the sweet ones. That kind of unrelenting love that was first modeled for us by the Father. It's so powerful. And you embody that love in a million tiny little ways every day. 

There's a commercial I saw recently (which, if you're like me, that's saying something since I usually fast-forward through them!) and it is promoting healthy living. Every time the woman makes a healthy choice, like choosing a salad or taking the stairs, confetti falls from the sky and fireworks go off.

Imagine how this commercial would look for moms:

You take the time to pump breast milk at work even though it's inconvenient and a hassle - someone in the hallway gives you a high five!

A marching band appears when you finish cleaning up the diaper that exploded and landed everywhere but inside the diaper!

You put down your phone and read a book to your child - a standing ovation ensues!

What mom wouldn't welcome a little background cheerleader helping us get through the day? I have to remind myself that God says "whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me." And "whatever you do, do it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not men." We don't do it for recognition, a pat on the back, or applause. It's not a competition to see if we are doing more hands-on childcare than our spouse. We do it because our babies are entrusted to us to care for by the Lord. He sees. And He's pleased.

Moms, listen carefully. I know there are days when you feel unseen, unappreciated, and alone. You're not. Here's what you are:

You are seen. 
Special.

Inspiring.

Doing a good and important work.

Enough.

A hero.

Capable.

Significant. 
Strong! 
And so loved. 

No one can take your place. 

You are amazing, mama.

Oh this face.

Wanna keep reading?

Here are my thoughts on being a new mom.