What
Young Christian Moms Want
from a
new mom’s perspective
We want the older, more
experienced mothers to put their arms around us and tell us things are going to
be okay. We want to know you also took thousands of trips in and out of the
auditorium when your children were small. We want to hear that your (now)
teenager tried the lay-in-the-floor-screaming-fit thing too. We want to know
your 6-foot-tall son wouldn’t eat meat or vegetables when he was five either.
We want to hear that it’s not the end of the world if we have frozen pizza
night once (or even twice) a week. Basically, we want to know that things are
not as bad as they may seem to us right now. We want to know that “this too
shall pass.” We need to hear that you lived through this, we can too.
We want occasional praise. I
don’t mean we expect you to stand on the rooftops and proclaim what great moms
we are. We don’t want to see our good deeds posted all over Facebook, Twitter
or any other social media site of your choice-that isn’t the reason we do
them-but we could use some encouragement from those of you who are older &
wiser. Send us a card to tell us that you’ve noticed the good manners our
children have. Tell us you appreciate us for bringing our children to class and
that you can tell we’re working with them at home on memory verses (or just
sitting still in their seats!). Commend us for being modest examples in the way
we dress. The list of ways to encourage one another is endless!
We want you to back us up. We
need you to encourage our children to respect us. When you teach them in Bible
classes or when you talk to them in the halls, remind them they are blessed
with parents who are trying to bring them up in the Lord.
We want to know your secrets.
Please, please, please share these with us. We need to know how you found time
to spend in Bible study when you had young ones. We want a copy of an easy
casserole or soup. We want to know ways you found to save money. Tell us about
games you played with your children. Remind us that dress-up costs nothing and
that sandwiches are much more appealing when sliced with cookie cutters. Share the
fact that you have a special chair only for reading books to your grandchildren
in. Give us a book that helped you get through bed rest when you were pregnant.
You might think it insignificant, but it just might be the difference between a
good or bad day for us.
We want you to pray for us and
then tell us when you do. Pray that we will be the kind of mothers God wants us
to be. Pray that we are able to set godly examples for our children. Pray that
we are able to help our husbands be the leader of the home God designed him to
be. Pray that you will be able to be an encouragement to us in word &
deed-and pray that we can be the same for you.
Finally, we want reminders.
Remind us that there is no such thing as Supermom. Remind us when we are
frustrated because we cannot accomplish everything we want to that we’re
accomplishing what is most important-the years to come will bring plenty of
time for new projects. Remind us that although we find it hard to believe right
now, one day we will miss repeating one sentence ten times. We will miss those
millions of “why” questions. We will miss naptime snuggles and clean baby smells. We will
miss being able to hold them in our arms. We will miss being the center of
their whole world. Remind us to treasure every second we are blessed to spend
with our little ones, so that when we become the ones able to give the advice we
have no regrets, only precious memories.
To the many Christian moms I have been blessed to learn from-I am
forever grateful.