Dear moms who think I have it all together: Allow me to gently burst your bubble.

Dear mama, we need each other down here in the trenches.

The amount of new and expecting moms that email me for advice sometimes makes me embarrassed. At minimum it makes me shake my head a little and chuckle. I suppose having a blog where I largely write about motherhood must project some sort of an image in young women’s minds as to the vast amounts of knowledge and wisdom I surely have about parenting. Surely.

(Ha. Ha. Ha. Can you hear the slow, sarcastic laughing coming from my direction?)

And I try my hardest to be real with you. I have learned a lot as a mom and I’m so grateful for a place to share that with others. But I also have so much to learn, and I often feel needy as a mom – needy for help, for advice, for affirmation, and for encouragement that I’m doing a good job and that I’m not permanently messing up these little humans who trust me so well.

Oh friends, if I wrote about every single insecurity and struggle and frustration and exasperated moment I have in my everyday life on this blog… I would probably send you running in the opposite direction. Fast.

So hear me now, sweet mama-friends: I sometimes quietly judge other moms without meaning to or even realizing I’ve done so. I can be harsh and critical towards myself when I don’t live up to self-imposed (mostly unrealistic) expectations. I am sometimes slow to forgive my own mistakes. I have been known to seriously consider trading my kids in when it comes to the hours between 4:00 and 6:00pm. Sleep deprivation literally makes me lose my mind (and sometimes my keys). I have backtracked on parenting decisions I’ve been adamant about. I sometimes google about parenting dilemmas when I should actually be praying. At times I can be driven by a fear of what people think of my ability to mother, rather than what my heart tells me is right for my kids.

I have moments of doubt, confusion, self-pity, and even outright apathy in regards to my mothering. I have days where I want to give up, days where I want a do-over, days where I want to run away, days where I want to ship my kids off to someone else to take care of while I get a “real” job (even though I know this one is more real and more right than anything else for this season of my life).

And then there’s those days where I wish my kids would be into a twelve-hour movie marathon so we could veg out and eat snacks and never have to do pesky things like meal-making and spill-wiping, talking and actual playing.

As much as I believe I’m the perfect mother for my children, I also sometimes shudder to think of how I might be screwing them up. I get fearful. I get anxious. I worry. I overanalyze.

This, my friends, is why I need Jesus in my parenting.

I sometimes feel that since I’m thirty-five I should well and truly feel like a grown-up by now. I should act wisely, plan carefully, choose discerningly, think maturely. And yet during difficult days I wonder how in the world anyone would think it’s a good idea to let this little girl have children of her own.

Before becoming a mom I was at a place in my life where I genuinely believed that I had dealt with most of my major “issues”. Not that I had arrived at some ethereal perfection, but the major weaknesses in my life were known and being addressed and the major hurts or hang-ups from my past had been largely worked through.

And then I birthed a couple of little teachers.

My children are teaching me that I am vulnerable, weak, susceptible to pain and heartache and rejection and a whole range of insecurities. They are teaching me that I’m not as patient as I once thought I was. That I have fewer answers and more questions than I realized. That I still have blaring weaknesses. That I sometimes hunger for control and thirst for my own way. That I hold tightly to my rights and sometimes just plain struggle not to harbor sin in my heart.

They are teaching me that my need for Grace is so much greater than I’ve ever understood before.

We may not be perfect mothers, but we are the perfect mothers for our children.

I’m not writing this as a solicitation for affirmation in my mothering. I’m not asking for pats on the back or fishing for compliments. I’m not writing in hopes that I might appear humble in my confession. (Because the truth is I’m still working through my own selfishness and pride, even as I write.)

I’m writing because, with all that I’ve learned in my short career as a mother, I realize that there’s a thousand times more yet to learn.

I’m writing this because—just like the young mother on the other end of the email—I too need advice, encouragement, and true connection down here in the trenches.

I’m writing this because we all need to remember that the woman parenting across from us likely deals with the same issues as we do. She probably sometimes feels at a loss for how to approach the third tantrum of the day before 8:00am. I bet she sometimes questions the nobility of her job as she labors over one more stinky load of grass stains and wet undies. She might feel guilty for yelling at her kids when she should have hugged them or for feeding them one too many chicken nugget dinners because that was all her weary arms had the strength for on a Tuesday.

I’m convinced the best way to empower mothers—young or new mothers especially—is to be open and honest about the whole motherhood package – the wonders and joys and the absolute fun, as well as the heartaches and failures, fears and insecurities.

If we want to empower other mothers, then we must be free within ourselves to share the journey. All of it. We just can’t do it well on our own.

I will continue to share my journey as a mom – the fun parts, the silly parts, the beautiful parts, the frustrating parts, the embarrassing or even shameful parts, the heartbreaking parts, the triumphant parts – all of it. And I will continue to hope that this online space will make room for other women to be encouraged, find community, be resourced, and find validation for the hard, messy, boring, thrilling work of motherhood.

Together we’ll figure out what we’re doing and learn from our mistakes and teach from our successes and we’ll celebrate the process.

I’m with you, dear mama. I support you, dear mama-to-be. I need you, dear mama-who’s-been-before-me. I am you, dear mama-in-waiting.

We need each other down here in the trenches of life with littles where the days move slowly but the years pass fast.

Yes, we need each other. And oh mercy… do we need Jesus.

Dear friends, are you guilty of putting other women on a pedestal in regards to how they mother? Are you guilty of judging them (positively or negatively) in ways that set them up to fail? Do you need the reminder today that we all struggle? That we all need one another? How are you purposing in your heart to empower another mom right now?

Love,
A

31 Days of Women Empowering Women at AdrielBooker.com

 

This post is part of a series called 31 Days of Women Empowering Women. See hundreds of incredible #31Days projects here.

About Author

Adriel Booker is an author, speaker, and advocate based in Sydney, Australia who believes storytelling, beauty, and the grace of God will change the world. Adriel has become a trusted voice in areas of motherhood and parenting, Christian spirituality, and global women's issues. She's also known for her work with the Love A Mama Collective—serving under-resourced women in developing nations through safe birth initiatives—as well as her years spent as a Bible teacher and leadership coach. Her latest book is Grace Like Scarlett: Grieving with Hope after Miscarriage and Loss and she's made the companion grief journal available for free. Find Adriel across all social media platforms at @adrielbooker or sign up for LoveNotes, Adriel's 'secret posts' that aren't published anywhere else online. ✌️

17 Comments

  • Shelia
    21 October 2013 at 2:27 am

    This is really beautiful and encouraging. As part of my 31 Days series, I wrote a post on comparing ourselves to each other. It was tough to write because The Lord brought to light so much of the ugly in my heart. We try so hard to get it right. I find that this battle of not being content in my own parenting or being too prideful in what I know has hurt relationships around me. And that’s really heart breaking to me. So I’m on a journey of healing. It’s only the beginning. but the end goal is that I would be able to humbly serve and empower other moms.
    Shelia recently posted..31 Days: Say “Yes” MoreMy Profile

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  • Branson
    21 October 2013 at 3:18 am

    This is beautiful, Adriel! I love the line “And then I birthed a couple of little teachers.” Amen, sister! I have learned SOO much through motherhood, and the lessons haven’t slowed down yet 😉

    Reply
  • Sarah
    21 October 2013 at 11:33 am

    Hi Adriel,

    This is the first time I’ve checked out your site. I actually stumbled across it while searching for circus tent birthday tent ideas and found the lovely photos of your son’s first birthday! I’ll so be “borrowing” some of your ideas for my little girls birthday in a few weeks! Also loved this post. You are refreshingly honest about the trials and tribulations of motherhood as well as being so very grateful and happy in your role overall. It sums up my experience of motherhood perfectly. When I was new to being a stay at home mum I felt guilty for feeling so desperately bored to death with the menial tasks of motherhood – constantly changing dirty clothes, wiping high chairs, endless laundry etc. A few years down the track and another baby later, I’m in a much better place emotionally, and feel so priveliged to be able to stay home with my little ones while they still have so much to learn! Better go hang out some clothes before they start to stink and I have to rewash the load… Again!

    Reply
  • Rachael
    21 October 2013 at 11:49 am

    Between 4 and 6 pm? For me it is between 4 and 6 am!

    Reply
  • Alana
    21 October 2013 at 12:28 pm

    I love this. So encouraging and real. I have spent many days wishing that we could all be in a 12 hour movie marathon to…sigh…I am guilty of comparing myself to other Mums, often in a ‘they look like they have it all together why don’t I’ kind of thing…but then I remember that my good day is another Mums bad day..we are all on this journey together and I think Mothers uniting and supporting each other is so awesome.

    Reply
  • Sus
    21 October 2013 at 8:59 pm

    this is such a good post. I know it is hard to spill the truth sometimes but it can be such a great encouragement to other mothers who are struggling through moments of complete helplessness and sometimes public embarrassment 😉 I had an almost 8 years old sitting on a table during a wedding eating her meat with her fingers while much smaller kids on the same table sat there eating in perfect manners quietly next to their parents..those are the moments I wish I could say..whose child is that anyways?
    However we moved to a new place not so long ago with a couple in the apartment underneath who have grown up kids. Their kids are kind, polite, general nice people to be around and they love to come and visit their parents. I asked the mother one day how she did it and then she smiled and told me about their struggles and her “moments” in parenting.. It brought a whole lot of hope to me and smiles and I thought to myself, yes, my kids are not the quiet, well behaving type (yet) but they will always be loved and not be given up neither by their parents nor by their creator and I know that in the end we will have stories to tell around the table about a girl who ate a schnitzel with her fingers, a boy who constantly peed on the neighbors flowers and I will sit there and think, yeah, those were fun days 😉

    Reply
    • Adriel
      22 October 2013 at 3:18 pm

      oh gosh – isn’t that encouraging?!! it’s so great to know that my kids won’t think saying “poo poo” is funny forever! LOL 😀

      p.s. levi sometimes whips his pants down at the park and starts peeing on a tree before i can stop him. WHERE DID HE GET THAT? seriously. it’s so embarrassing! hahaha!!
      Adriel recently posted..“Don’t you want kids?” | The secret burden of infertilityMy Profile

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  • Ali
    22 October 2013 at 1:47 am

    Thank you for this! I’m so new at this, even though my little one is a 5 year old! 🙂 I also went into motherhood feeling pretty sure that most of my major issues had been dealt with, and that I was a pretty loving, compassionate and patient person…then my new teacher came along and showed me that in fact, I am not most of the above all of the time. I have so much to learn, and show much growing up to do. I’m so blessed to know others that are real and honest about the journey and help put my mind at ease that I am not the only one that feels like I’m the worst mother ever (even though that obviously isn’t true.) Thanks for the encouragement today.

    Reply
  • jess
    22 October 2013 at 6:48 am

    Thank u adriel for writing this. I believe we all need to be more honest about motherhood and stop the ideals of being a perfect mother so we can just be mothers x o love alll your posts x o

    Reply
  • Jacey
    28 October 2013 at 4:51 pm

    You’ve made me cry, and I don’t cry from blogs! I relate so much to your words (as do most mothers, the logical part of my brain suspects). I have had such a terrible weekend with my parenting, alternating between feeling like I am actually losing my mind and feeling like I’m ruining my children by my yelling, impatience, etc. I am always feeling like all other mothers have it so together and are so calm and patient with their children, and I just find my children to be so difficult at the moment. I really feel quite alone. Thank you so much for this, I so needed it today.

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