It was a blinding, radiant white the day we got married, me floating down the aisle bathed in gold and candlelight. I was draped in lace, the flowers woven into my hair as fresh as my love as I gave everything to that “I do.”

He wore a pinstriped tux that we got for free by coercing his unsuspecting groomsmen into also renting overly expensive suits for a fancy dinner.

We stood at the altar in black and white and we loved each other and there were no shades of grey.

When it broke it broke hard, slipped right through our fingers and shattered as we stood next to an incubator and watched our only child struggle to live.

In Defense of Motherhood: Pass the Swords

In her amazing reflection on the horror playing out across news and social media streams this summer as Planned Parenthood is exposed, Sarah Clarkson has called what’s happening a “Failure of Imagination.

Ann Voskamp adds that it is both a failure of community and “a failure of humanity: failing a human being in crisis and a human being in utero.”

The images rolling across my stream turn my stomach, turn my head, turn my heart pale, compel me to turn off the screens. 

His voice is shaky and his eyes fill with tears. "I don't want to go to school. I don't ever want to go to school again!" I take a deep breath and buy some time as I take another bite of my bagel and a sip of my coffee. My throat tightens and I blink away tears. The first week of kindergarten has broken my heart and left me feeling unsure and unsettled.

I remember what my husband said to my son. "Do we run away from things that are hard, or do we face them?" 

What if she doesn’t find new friends? What if this is not the sport for him? How will she ever pass this test? When will he find the time for that project? 

As mothers, it’s easy to worry over our children. The initial thought creeps in as a concern and then before long, a small parenting care has grown into a full-blown fretting fit.

Cast all your anxiety on him, for he cares for you. I Peter 5:6-8 NIV

 

Am I Enough? Overcoming Feelings of Unworthiness as a Mom

Do you ever feel as if you aren't enough? Do you struggle with feelings of unworthiness? I have for most of my life. I crave perfection, but I look in the mirror, around the house, and in my roles as wife and mom and I see all the shortcomings:

  • “Not disciplined enough,” my reflection tells me.
  • “Not clean or organized enough,” my house screams.
  • “Not loving or respectful enough,” I read in my husband's eyes.
  • “Not fun enough, joyful enough, or compassionate enough,” my child's actions or cries tell me.

If I was more—if I did more or gave more—then my life would be easier. That was the lie I believed, but I always, ALWAYS fell short.