Recently Ryan and I sat and had a conversation about marriage, our family and our roles within our family. I was feeling burdened that I was not living up to being the wife and mother that Christ has called me to be. My goal has always been to strive to be the best version of the Proverbs 31 spouse that I could be, and lately,  I have been struggling in this area. However, it goes beyond just being a spouse, but a mother as well. I’ve always just kept these feelings locked inside, because I  thought it was my own issue. After sharing my heart with some of my other momma friends, I am finding that I am not at all alone in this…neither are you.

I am a stay at home momma of two beautiful ,or as Novella might say (Prettiful- a combination word of pretty and beautiful), little girls. 2 year, and 4 month old. Some days are more of a struggle than others, but then you put Ryans job in the Coast Guard in the mix, and his days here and away, it throws a whole different challenge into the mix, but it works for us, and we make due. Sometimes, days are more stressful because he is home (due to our routine getting thrown off schedule), other days it is more stressful because he is gone and the 2 year old acts out because she misses her Papa, some days despite having two little girls with me, are extremely lonely. No day is perfect, and no solution is guaranteed,  other than doing my best to make each day the best day I can…and that starts with me and Christ.

The title of this blog is called “Not Alone in Motherhood”, this means two things, there are a lot of other moms that have been or are going through things that you are, and there is typically at least one momma out there that can relate to you; the other aspect of this not being alone is that Christ is ALWAYS with you. Even in your loneliest moments of motherhood, Christ is by your side, and ALWAYS will be. So for this blog I want to encourage you that no matter your home life situation, the age and/or challenge of your children, your loneliness, your fear that you are doing something wrong and will permanently mess up your kids (what mom hasn’t had this fear cross their mind at least once?) One of my absolutely favorite songs right now is by a Christian group called the Rend Collective Experiment and they have a song called, “My Lighthouse”. It is one of my absolute favorites and such a solid reminder that no matter what comes our way that Christ will always be there as our lighthouse to steer us through any storm.

I am beginning to fear that this blog is a little bit ALL OVER the place, so I will end this post with a couple of encouragements for you. First, I want to say that as a mother if you can find the time to do a devotion, whether it be a short small one on the awesome phone app or website YouVersion, a devotional book you pick up at your local bookstore, or a blogger/author that does devotionals (one of my favorites is one that my mother shared with me Christine Caine), or just the standard, get your bible out and read, etc., there are lots of outlets to dive in and get fed. As a Christian mother and wife, I have found that when I am not in the word my family life tends to struggle because I have not made Christ the center as he should be. My family tends to thrive more when Ryan and I are both in the word, and in prayer with one another, and individually. Give it a try! Also, in this same breath, if you are feeding yourself spiritually, you will likely begin to feed those little minds spiritually as well.  Proverbs 22:6 says, “Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.” (NLT). What a good reminder that we have been entrusted to help raise these children up into God fearing men and women that will one day be the backbone of this country, of this world. It is a big job, but the most important one of all (in my opinion)

I have 4 of the best girlfriends a Woman could ask for, one named Michele, and the other 3 are Chelsea’s. They all live in different states, but I talk to all of them almost daily. We pray with and for one another, we encourage, talk, laugh, cry, vent…you name it. They are my support team, all different backgrounds, all different struggles, all different lifestyles. One thing remains in common, we are all Christian mothers with different challenges that need the support of a best friend. Several of us have been through the thick and thin of life with one another. One Chelsea and I have been friends for over 20 years now (she has seen me through and stuck by me through my worst stages of life), but at the same time each of these women encourages me to be the mother and wife that Christ has called me to be, and I pray that I can be the same encouragement to them. So like I said, no one is alone in this thing we call motherhood. Everyone has that one friend, and if you rely on him, you have Christ too. So even in your weakest and loneliest moments… you are NEVER ALONE!

Be encouraged! Lean on Christ, your spouse and your friends! Find the support you need. Get in the word, build your prayer life, pray for your relationship with Christ, pray for your spouse and your children. I know I will continue to strive to be a Proverbs 31 woman, and I will continue to take the challenge of raising these little girls up to be Christ followers with every ounce of my being…. THRIVE! LIVE LIFE to its FULLEST! PRAISE GOD and BE THANKFUL for ANOTHER DAY!