The Struggle is Real

Anyone else feel like Mother's Day sometimes is a day to remind us how perfect we're supposed to be and how perfect we aren't? Here's my vision of the modern perfect mom: the soft spoken discipline of Michelle Duggar, the encouragement of Joanna Gaines, the delicious meals of Rachael Ray, the spiritual wisdom of Shauna Niequist, the body of Jennifer Lawrence. 

I am none of those women. 

Not a soul on this Earth would call me soft-spoken, and if not for my Instant Pot, my family would live on frozen pizzas. 

And those expectations are self-inflicted wounds that remind us of all the harsh words, harsher tones, and frustration we've unleashed in the last year. 

Perfection? Not even close. 

I have a friend struggling with being a mom right now...the hardest parts...the anxiety, guilt, pessimism, can't-give-anymore hardest parts. So, I channeled my inner Joanna Gaines, compiled the wisdom of others, and texted this:

For her, but also for myself. The struggle is real, and common, and turns us into the mom our kids need us to be. It's ok to lean in to the struggle. It's ok to cry and give up sometimes. Mother's Day is about celebrating the mom that God (and your kids) are helping you become. We're never the same mom year to year, sometimes even changing day-to-day, and I'm only three years into this journey. Others have experienced so much more, and yet still the same. 

So, here's to Mother's Day 2017- from all of us tired, busy, hot mess mommas thankful that the struggle (and the blessing) is real.