We had a morning y’all. And when I say morning, I mean the kind of morning that lasts until 2:39pm. I totally overloaded kids 2 & 3 with errands and they responded as they should, but you know, Jesus covers everything so I freaking turned the worship music up in the car max volume and let the name of Jesus cover their crying. Then, I opened the pack of 4 carrot cakes I bought to stress eat on the way home. And THEN, I looked up to realize the one errand I had forgotten…filling the gas tank up…and already on my way home with no gas station for another 21 miles.
And as I reached for a second carrot cake, the Lord reminded me about a women I had counseled recently through a tough season. At one point, she had looked at me and said, “I’m just not you. I’m not as strong as you. I don’t have it together like you.”
Oh friend, we have it so wrong sometimes. I wish we would scrap all the “picture perfect” motherhood stuff and just be. Are you with me? Having it together all the time is exhausting! Let’s have some grace for ourselves the same way Jesus has grace for us!
I want to take a moment and be real (messy) with you for a moment. So, in no particular order I bring you 20 things I have accomplished since becoming a mother… drumroll please!
- I have spent approximately 450 minutes combined on stage speaking.
- I have peed my pants (this one is more than once) jumping on the kids’ trampoline.
- I became a licensed Pastor.
- I invented a new kind of baby wipe. To be clear, I forgot wipes and wetted down the two month old McDonald’s napkin on the floor of the car.
- I worked my butt off to lose 40lbs.
- I gained 40lbs.
- I took time to research what “non-toxic” on Elmers Glue really means.
- Turns out it means non toxic as long as you don’t use it incorrectly. So I used that sucker for lash glue when I woke up one morning realizing I was out.
- I found my love for racing again and signed up for a half-marathon.
- I requested a refund for a half-marathon because what mom has time to train for that? But I did freakin’ rock a 5K!
- I committed to eating Keto for the last 5 1/2 years.
- I birthed three kids! (Which I guess means I really only ate Keto 2 years unless all the pop tarts I ate while pregnant were low carb…)
- I have ONE plant I have kept alive for as long as I’ve been a mother.
- I’ve lead Bible studies, small groups, workout groups, ministries and even an entire program for the annual National Foursquare Connection.
- I’ve never missed an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Just keepin’ it real. I’m a real OG.
- I coached multiple State Championship teams.
- I have worn the same pants 3 days….5 days, it was 5 days- in a row.
- I memorized the WiFi password we’ve had for almost 6 years. Yesterday. I finished memorizing it yesterday.
- I found real, authentic community and connection.
- I learned how to surrender to the grace of our Father.
You see, whether you are a pastor, or a teacher, or a nurse, a stay-at-home mom, none of us have it together. So, let’s stop. Stop the unrealistic standards we set. Let’s stop trying to be the person we think our neighbor is. Let’s have grace for ourselves and our Mama Tribe.
Brittany Morioka 