Motherhood: 3 Valuable Lessons from My Point of View

I know, I know. You don’t need another Mother’s Day post. There are so many good ones out there chock full of valuable lessons worth a share, and while my two cents may not make a difference for you, these three lessons have made a huge difference for me!

{Disclaimer: these are all lessons I’m still learning, and quite frankly, they’re the three things I struggle with most, so this post is probably more for me than you, but nonetheless, I pray you find value in it, too.}

Motherhood: 3 valuable lessons from my point of view:

1. Don’t do it for them. Do it with them. Show and assure them. It will grow and mature them.

2. Being proactive helps guard against being inactive or reactive.

3. Give yourself grace to begin again.

So, what exactly does this mean? I’m glad you asked!

Don’t do it for them. Do it with them. Show and assure them. It will grow and mature them.

I say it all the time, because I see it in these boys men of mine. Things are more caught than taught. Show them how instead of demanding it “right now,” and resist the urge of the ease to do it for them (i.e. laundry, dishes, yard work, and other “chores and responsibilities” that are a necessary part of “family”).

When they are young, it will take twice as long and be half as good as if you just did it yourself, but when they are older, they’ll be so grateful you trusted them enough to do the hard stuff.

Kids can cook. Kids can clean. Let them by letting go. Things will never turn out perfectly, but they will thank you for the things they’ll be able to do independently.

Being proactive helps guard against being inactive or reactive.

Pray, plan, and prep. When you do the work of preparation, you can eliminate some of the frustration. Now don’t be all crazy rigid about it, because that doesn’t give much room for flexibility and growth. But, by all means, fight against idleness and moodiness with “getting your act together-ness.” When we “wing it” in motherhood, more often than not, we have to make mid course corrections or crash landings.

So, take time to do a little work first (pray, plan, and prep), so you can enjoy the time with a little less stress.

Give yourself grace to begin again.

We all have hard days. Our kids have hard days, too, and more often than not, our hard days happen on the same day! We mess up, fail to keep our head up, and end up giving up, all because we’re fed up.

“If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” A saying you may have heard and thought a bit absurd, but let me assure you, there’s a little truth in jest, and that saying has proved true in our home on many occasions!

So, own it, momma, and then make it right. Your attitude sets the tone in your home. Surrender the blahs and remember, God’s got ya! He goes before you. He hems you in from behind. He inhabits your praise, so praise His name — in word and deed.

Today may be a bad day, but tomorrow’s a new day, and His mercies are new every day.

So, remember: Don’t do it FOR them, do it WITH them. Proactivity > Inactivity + Reactivity. Give your grace to begin again.