Skip to main content

Soul Care

I had MOPS today. Disclaimer: If you are not familiar with my thoughts on MOPS, you may want to check out some prior posts. Our speaking talked about "Soul Care" which she defined as being a good steward of what God has entrusted us with; ourselves.

As nature has designed it, motherhood can sometimes be... a lot. We deal with lots of stress, isolation, unrealistically high expectations that we put on ourselves or that have been placed upon us, a mothers compassionate heart and we are dealing with the whole image and identity thing too.

I am not complaining here, I know that every season of life offers us different chances to rise up and be better than we currently are. Without struggle we would cease to grow. I heard a story once about a little girl who was watching a butterfly emerge from a cocoon. It was struggling and she was afraid for it and wanted to help the poor little thing along. A wise man told her that if she were to help the butterfly, it would then not be strong enough to fly once it was out and it would die, the butterfly needed the struggle to make it stronger.

I think that is such a great picture of motherhood. If we don't struggle with learning to let our little make small choices (like wearing shoes), then we won't be strong enough to trust them with the bigger choices (what college to go to).

I am not trying to make light of all the hard work it is to mother young children, or mother any children at all. But when it comes right down to it, I am so glad God challenges me. It shows me I am strong enough, that I am responsible enough to raise these precious babies, that I can be more than I am now, and better.

Comments

Jennifer McHam said…
I love this. I always tell myself that when Tristan is learning to put on his own underwear and it's taking him 30 minutes to do it and I should just do it myself that it's teaching him important skills like say no to drugs. You know how my mind works. So I say to myself again and again "Just say no, just say no." I'm so glad I'm not the only one who struggles with motherhood - It always seems so easy for some people (ahem, you!) - You are such a role model for me!
21 February, 2009 19:09
Honeycutt Family said…
When I first read the beginning of this post I was thinking, "She blogged about it before I could!!!" I have been wanting to post about "Soul Care" since MOPS on Friday too. You took a different angle than I was thinking (I like it!), so I might still post something. Great thoughts, Gretch. You always make me think.
22 February, 2009 03:03
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Working on my Domestic Goddess Badge

I looked at the to-do list I made last week and am happy to say I can cross off almost everything on it. It only took me 2 weeks. I think I either need smaller lists or more time. Here is what I have been up to: -I have made 2 loaves of banana oat bread, 1 batch of blackberry strawberry freezer jam, 1 loaf of gluten free bread. -From 12 juiced grapefruit I made grapefruit curd and a pan of grapefruit bars. -My garden is almost completely done, including a upgrade in size. I am growing tomatoes, onions, peppers, potatoes , cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower , herbs, lettuce, spinach , green beans, snap peas, cucumbers, and kohlrabi. -I hung herbs to dry -I have folded massive amounts of laundry...with more yet to do. All washed with my homemade laundry soap. -I recovered the "green monster" which is another post entirely. -I added a sitting area in my bedroom, where I am currently sitting, so that my laptop has a home other than the kitchen table. - I got a new dining room table a...
23 comments
Read more

Blogging

So I have lost the love of blogging. I have always believed it is a narcissistic pass time, yet enjoy it anyway. I have found I easily spend entirely too much time tied to my computer. By the time I check Facebook , e-mail, friends blogs, etc I can easily waste an hour, if not two, of time. A friend of mine just blogged about the same thing. Yes, I get the irony of a blog post about not blog posting, but alas, here it is: I just read a good friends blog about my blog. A great leader here in Boulder, Kevin Colon wrote this: “Hugh moved to Denver to do a training deal for an organization and he ended up starting a church. His blogging is not incredibly frequent but when he does blog….it’s good!” Now, while I’m humbled that a man like Kevin would even want to read my blog, I figured it was a good time to state once and for all why I only post once or twice a month. Simply this……..”I prefer to spend my time with people.” I’ ve always wondered how people have time to read blogs, let alo...
15 comments
Read more

Preschool

I have a fabulous group of mommy friends, most with children within a few months in age of mine. I love them dearly. We talk about all kinds of things; parenting, our spouses, choices we make for our families. We don't all do things the same and I think that is great, I learn a lot from these Godly women in my life. As of late, the topic has been preschool. A few of us considered co-oping a preschool for our children and others felt lead to do things a little more traditionally. We ended up deciding not to do the co-op. Spread sheets were made, schools compared and now everyone is signed up for preschool for the beginning of next school year. Everyone but Eliana. We are not doing preschool next year, or maybe even ever. I have given this a lot of thought, and this is what I have come up with. These are our reasons, I don't expect my friends to make the same choice for their family. 1- I like Elie. I know other people like there kids too. I just don't feel the need to get ri...
7 comments
Read more