You Are Enough

Hi, Moms.

If you can, why don’t you warm up that cup of coffee for the umpteenth time today and sit down for a few because I have something super important to tell you.

Maybe grab a piece of chocolate from your stash, too. You know, the one you keep for those times when you are finally able to hide from your kids find a moment of solitude. If you don’t have a stash, assemble one immediately! Your kids will never notice that some of their Easter candy is missing. You can thank me later.

All set? 

Ok. It’s simple, really, but I believe we all need to hear it:

You are enough.

Now let that sink in.

YOU. ARE. ENOUGH.

I know you need to hear it. Because I know us.

I know how we consistently put the needs of another before our own, and we stretch ourselves way thin, and at the end of the day in our finally-quieted houses, all we can think about is how we could have and should have done more, done better.

I know how we question ourselves on the myriad of decisions that we make each and every day, both big and small.

I know that raising kids who come from hard places adds a whole new element of pressure and expectation that we put upon ourselves.

And I know the lies ringing in our ears.

Inadequate.

Not enough.

Less than.

Failure.

They are so easy to believe when you’re tired.  And the house needs cleaning, and the dogs need walking, and diapers need changing, and dinner needs making, and laundry needs folding.  When everything feels like it is spiraling out of control, and everyone around you needs something.

 

And I am beyond familiar with that inner voice.

You should have it together.

Your kids are out of control.

Your life is out of control.

You’re too controlling.

You coddle too much.

You expect too much.

A good mom wouldn’t feel stressed.

A good mom wouldn’t feed that to her kids.

Hurry up.

Slow down.

Motherhood is a battlefield, my friends. And of course it is because we are raising this next generation of world-changers.

 

And there is a very real enemy out there who wants nothing more than to thwart our work – or at the very least steal our joy and beat us down to guilt-ridden messes who believe that we are doing it all wrong.

And he really doesn’t even have to do much, does he? We do it to ourselves. We set our own [unrealistic] expectations. We see everyone’s highlights via social media and allow them to make us feel less-than. We read countless articles on parenting and health and nutrition and whatnot, and while they can be helpful and informative, it is easy to allow them to make us feel like we are doing everything wrong.

Moms, I wish I could give each of you out there a great big hug and a fresh cup of Starbucks.

I am certain that you are doing the best you can, and guess what?  It’s enough. YOU ARE ENOUGH.

You are exactly what your kids need. God knew every detail about you and every detail about your child[ren], and He put you together because you are best for each other.

You are NOT perfect. But grace.

SO MUCH GRACE. Pouring down, washing us clean.  Oh, thank you, Jesus!  

Every little thing that you nitpick about yourself?  His blood covers it.

And when we choose to quiet all of the other voices speaking over us, this is what HE says:

I love you.

My grace is enough.

It’s covered.

I fill in the gaps for you.

I have equipped you.

My power is made perfect in your weakness.

I redeem all things.

You are clothed in strength and dignity.

You can laugh at the days to come.

Today I challenge you, Moms. Instead of criticizing yourself for all of the things that [you think] make you "not enough," trust God to fill in the gaps for you and celebrate the things that make you a great mom!

Take a look at your own "highlight reel" for once [peruse your own fb/insta/phone pics] to remind yourself of what you DO do.

Look at all the smiles, the snuggles, the training, the fun, the adventures, the chaos and messes that YOU LET HAPPEN [even though it stresses you out].

 

  

 

Your kids are loved. They're thriving.

You’re doing it.

YOU’RE DOING IT.

YOU are ENOUGH.

----------------------------------

 Elya and her husband, Rob, reside in Cleveland, Ohio with their two amazing daughters [home from Ethiopia since 2011] and their two crazy dogs. Elya is passionate about Jesus, adoption and foster care, and the water crisis.  She blogs when she can at http://emariestar.blogspot.com/