It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

Dickens’ penned these words to begin my favorite of his works, A Tale of Two Cities.  I’m finding this is an apt description of motherhood, though.  In fact, there are days when all of this is true within an hour.  {Can I get a witness?}

Motherhood feels like a full contact sport sometimes.  This child of mine can bring me the greatest joy … but, as we’ve entered the teenage years full on, I have found myself in tears wondering how she could break my heart so easily.  One of my wise friends told me a few months ago, “Don’t take it personally.”  In my head, I know she’s right.  But, y’all, no joke, it’s hard not to take it personally when your child hurts your feelings.

Having a thirteen-year-old girl has taught me a few things.  But the biggest one is this:

Motherhood needs—demands—sisterhood.

More than ever I need women to come alongside me.

I need the 20-something woman with dreams in her heart and stars in her eyes.

She’s eager for life to get started, for that man who will sweep her off her feet, and the children who will fill her home with fun.  I need her to remind me to laugh and enjoy these days.

I need the friend who has cried into her pillow and fallen into a heap on the bathroom floor, again, when the pregnancy test is negative.

She gives me this precious gift of looking at my child and seeing her as what she really is, a gift from God {Psalm 127:3}.  And this friend, this one in the sisterhood, she also offers me the opportunity to love someone well, to reach out beyond my home and into the heart of someone else.  I need this … because it’s far too easy to get wrapped up in car pools and dance recitals and how in the world we’ll pay for college.

I need the friend with the newborn, the one whose eyes are exhausted and who can’t put sentences together.

She is the one who lets me snuggle with her baby and whisper the promises of a God who is good and faithful into his sweet ears.  I need this {really need this!} because even though my girl has a big helping of her momma’s sassiness, she’s still my baby and she still needs to hear that God is good and faithful, especially when middle school girl drama feels overwhelming.

I need those moms with little ones toddling about and learning to read.

I watch them watch their kids.  And I need them to help me remember to celebrate the successes … whether it’s potty training or making cheerleader.  I need this because there are days when all I see is a messy room.

I need those women who, like me, are wondering if there is enough hair color available to keep us looking somewhat decent through these teenage years.

These women in the sisterhood know the frustrations and fears, the way each day can go either way and you’re never really sure if the child that enters the room is going to be the happy child you thought you’d raised or this sullen stranger.  Oh I need these women … because some days I start to believe I’m all alone and I’m really not.

I need those women who have raised their kids and lived to tell about it.

The ones who say, “Cherish these days, they’ll be gone before you know it.”  The ones who remind me you never stop being a mom, your heart never stops breaking when your child hurts, and your smile never goes away when your child is happy.  I’m so thankful for that part of the sisterhood!

And I need those women who love my girl.

The teachers and the coaches, the other moms and the older girls, the grandparents and the ones who could be, the single women who pour into her and the ones who tell her she is a world changer.  I need them, all of them, because motherhood is too hard to go it alone.

I need the sisterhood.  We all do.

So Happy Mother’s Day to the whole lot of you—the ones with babies and the ones with grandbabies, the ones who dream of babies and the ones who are living the dream, the ones who are hurting and the ones who are helping.  You all make a difference and I’m a better mom because you are in my life!

Would you share in the comments how you’ve found the joy of sisterhood in mothering?

xo,

Teri Lynne 

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I remember telling my mom, in the the shyest of ways, that I felt like there was greatness in me. I knew that God had a calling on my life and I knew that it was significant. That greatness is in all of us who have surrendered to Jesus. His calling on each of us is a call to live with His extraordinary greatness flowing out of us.

For too long I have felt desperate, overwhelmed and have moaned about how hard mothering is. I somehow lost sight of that greatness.

I hear God calling me to wake up. I sense He’s calling us all to wake up to greatness.

Yes, being a momma IS hard but we have a choice to quit moaning and being overwhelmed and saturate ourselves in the presence of God where He calls us to greatness in our homes.

We can lead our children not only to the cross to avoid hell but to God’s face so that they are changed, and the greatness in them is stirred up. So that they hear Him and see Him and KNOW Him. So that He stirs up callings and giftings in their lives while they are but babes and they take their generation for Him because they had a mom who led them to Jesus. A mom who sacrificed her own moaning for an easier life for crying out to God with her children for change. A mom who didn’t just bandage the hurts and wounds of her children but asked God to speak to them and waited on Him with her children in effort to teach them that this is what you do when you are hurt… you run to Him.

You have greatness inside of you. Now let it out! Stir up that greatness in your children by living a life knowing who you are and the using the tools & weapons that you have.

Be overwhelmed with Jesus and not with your circumstances.

Quit fretting about all of your mistakes and how to do it ALL and simply press in, with your children, to see the heart changes you long for, to see God’s power rise up in your home and in their lives.

Pray for their friends as if your children’s lives depended on it (they do). Pray for their schools as if revival is possible (it is). Pray for healing as if it’s yours (it is). Ask for the things you need and watch God move in power and overwhelm what overwhelms you. His greatness is ready – waiting – to rise up in you and do great things.

You are the key momma. You! Yes, all the little things matter and God sees you serving. It’s true. But don’t fall asleep thinking that you can just go about your day and there isn’t an enemy out there waiting and watching for a way to devour you and yours.

Rise up, oh woman of God. Rise up mighty warrior. You are called to greatness. You are called to be a GREAT leader in your home. You are a lioness who has cubs in her care. It’s time to get tough and dirty on your knees before God and even in front of your children. They need to see how you fight. They need you to show them How God fights for them, how He sees them. Quit waiting for something magical to happen in you. You already have everything you need.

Do you feel it rising? It’s called greatness. Now let’s walk in it!

In this with you, Kristin of The Beautiful Deep

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