Latest / Praise, Prayer & Protein / Finding Your Identity In Motherhood

Transcript

Finding Your Identity In Motherhood · Praise, Prayer & Protein

0:09
SPEAKER_00: Hey, I'm Katie, mom of seven, coffee lover, and believer in finding joy in every season of motherhood.
0:16
SPEAKER_00: This is Praise, Prayer, and Protein, where we talk faith, family, proof of living, and the real-life mom hacks that make it all work.
0:24
SPEAKER_00: Let's dive in.
0:26
SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to Praise, Prayer, and Protein.
0:29
SPEAKER_00: I have to tell you, season two has been a little bit harder for me to record than I expected.
0:36
SPEAKER_00: And not because I don't have things I want to talk about.
0:39
SPEAKER_00: Believe me, I actually have a running list of things I want to talk about this season.
0:42
SPEAKER_00: It's been really hard because almost every single time I sit down to record an episode, something happens in my own life that makes me question whether I should be the one talking about it or not.
0:53
SPEAKER_00: And I think today I just really want to be open with you all about that.
0:57
SPEAKER_00: Because this week we are going to be talking all about insecurity in our motherhood.
1:02
SPEAKER_00: The feeling of, am I actually doing a good job?
1:06
SPEAKER_00: Am I getting this right?
1:07
SPEAKER_00: Did I mess up the mom guilt?
1:10
SPEAKER_00: And maybe the hardest one, what does it say about me when my kids are struggling?
1:16
SPEAKER_00: Because I think somewhere along the way, we can start using our kids as a report card of our own motherhood, guilty as charged.
1:24
SPEAKER_00: And if they're doing well, we're doing well.
1:26
SPEAKER_00: And if they're making good choices, we must have done something right.
1:30
SPEAKER_00: If they're thriving in school and have great friends and love Jesus and are kind and respectful and everybody loves them, then okay, we did a pretty good darn job.
1:39
SPEAKER_00: We did a pretty good job.
1:42
SPEAKER_00: But what happens when they're not?
1:44
SPEAKER_00: What happens when a child is struggling?
1:46
SPEAKER_00: What happens when their personality is very different from yours?
1:50
SPEAKER_00: What happens when they make a choice that you wouldn't make?
1:53
SPEAKER_00: What happens when a teenager starts becoming independent and you're not part of those decisions anymore?
1:58
SPEAKER_00: What happens when someone doesn't like one of your kids or sees behavior in them that they don't think is acceptable?
2:04
SPEAKER_00: What happens when your family doesn't look the way you thought it would look?
2:08
SPEAKER_00: Does that mean we've failed?
2:10
SPEAKER_00: And as a Christian mom, there's another layer to it.
2:13
SPEAKER_00: What happens when our family doesn't look like the good Christian family is supposed to look?
2:19
SPEAKER_00: I was doing air quote quotations there with my fingers, the good Christian family.
2:24
SPEAKER_00: Does that disqualify me from encouraging someone else?
2:28
SPEAKER_00: Because if I'm being completely open with you, those are really some of the questions I've been wrestling with.
2:34
SPEAKER_00: I really questioned whether I wanted to come back for season two.
2:38
SPEAKER_00: I love this podcast.
2:41
SPEAKER_00: I love getting your messages.
2:42
SPEAKER_00: I love hearing that something we talked about helped you and encouraged you.
2:46
SPEAKER_00: But I had some things going on in my own motherhood this summer that really made me question myself.
2:51
SPEAKER_00: I started wondering, who am I to have a podcast about this stuff?
2:55
SPEAKER_00: Who am I to encourage other moms?
2:57
SPEAKER_00: What if I'm talking about these things and then I'm struggling with them on my own home?
3:01
SPEAKER_00: I don't ever want to come on here and pretend that I have everything figured out.
3:05
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to present some perfect little picture of our family, and then you think, well, of course that works for Katie.
3:11
SPEAKER_00: Her kids probably all happily do exactly what she says because that is not true.
3:16
SPEAKER_00: We are nine real people living in one house.
3:20
SPEAKER_00: We have seven kids with seven different personalities, and then add Mike and I on top of that.
3:25
SPEAKER_00: Seven different strengths, seven different struggles, seven different ways of looking at the world.
3:30
SPEAKER_00: And as our older kids become teens and young adults, I'm learning an entirely new part of motherhood.
3:36
SPEAKER_00: They're becoming independent, and that's so good.
3:38
SPEAKER_00: That's what we've raised them to do.
3:40
SPEAKER_00: But it's also really hard because suddenly I don't make every decision.
3:45
SPEAKER_00: I don't know every conversation.
3:47
SPEAKER_00: I don't get to choose every outcome.
3:50
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes their choices are different than the ones I would make.
3:54
SPEAKER_00: That can really mess with you as a mom if your identity is wrapped up in your kids doing exactly what you think they should do.
4:02
SPEAKER_00: Towards the end of the summer, when I was still questioning whether I wanted to do another season, I got a text from a friend.
4:08
SPEAKER_00: She told me that one of her coworkers listens to the podcast.
4:12
SPEAKER_00: And it was just that tiny bit of encouragement.
4:14
SPEAKER_00: This person I don't even know is listening.
4:17
SPEAKER_00: Something I'm saying is reaching someone outside of my little circle.
4:21
SPEAKER_00: And then I thought about all the messages I've gotten from you guys.
4:24
SPEAKER_00: Messages saying, I needed that today.
4:27
SPEAKER_00: This really encouraged me.
4:29
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for talking about this.
4:31
SPEAKER_00: I love your podcast.
4:33
SPEAKER_00: And it was like the Lord gave me this little reminder.
4:37
SPEAKER_00: You don't have to have everything figured out to encourage someone else.
4:42
SPEAKER_00: Maybe that's exactly part of why we can encourage one another.
4:46
SPEAKER_00: We're walking through it too.
4:48
SPEAKER_00: I'm not sitting on the other side of motherhood with seven perfectly adjusted adult children saying, Here are the 10 things I did correctly.
4:57
SPEAKER_00: No, I'm in it.
4:59
SPEAKER_00: I'm learning, I'm praying, I'm getting a lot of things wrong.
5:04
SPEAKER_00: I'm apologizing.
5:05
SPEAKER_00: I'm changing things.
5:07
SPEAKER_00: I'm asking God for wisdom.
5:09
SPEAKER_00: And I'm sharing some of that with you as I go.
5:12
SPEAKER_00: And here's where it gets almost funny.
5:15
SPEAKER_00: Last week's episode was about praying for our kids.
5:17
SPEAKER_00: I had the script ready.
5:19
SPEAKER_00: I knew what I wanted to share.
5:20
SPEAKER_00: And before I sat down to record it, something came up and it almost knocked me out.
5:25
SPEAKER_00: I remember thinking, why am I even doing this podcast?
5:29
SPEAKER_00: Who am I to record an episode about praying for our kids when I'm dealing with this right now?
5:34
SPEAKER_00: Do I even have the authority to talk about this?
5:37
SPEAKER_00: And then it came back to me, the very thing that I was going to tell you all about.
5:41
SPEAKER_00: We don't pray for our kids because prayer guarantees that nothing painful will ever happen.
5:46
SPEAKER_00: We don't pray because it means our children will never struggle.
5:50
SPEAKER_00: We don't pray because we're going to control every choice they make.
5:54
SPEAKER_00: No, we pray because we are grounding them and we're grounding ourselves in the promises of God.
6:00
SPEAKER_00: We're reminding ourselves who is actually holding them.
6:05
SPEAKER_00: And I recorded that episode.
6:07
SPEAKER_00: Was it easy?
6:08
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely not.
6:09
SPEAKER_00: If you hadn't had a chance to listen, there are some tears.
6:12
SPEAKER_00: Not as many as actually were shed because I was able to edit quite a few out.
6:17
SPEAKER_00: But there was, and it was hard, but I did it.
6:20
SPEAKER_00: And now here I am again this week talking about the insecurity.
6:25
SPEAKER_00: So apparently we're just going straight into all the things I'm currently learning and struggling with.
6:31
SPEAKER_00: I started thinking this week, what are the things we use to decide whether we're a good mom or not?
6:37
SPEAKER_00: Is it our kids' behavior, their grades, whether they have good friends, whether other adults like them, whether they make a team, they go to church, they behave at church, they eat vegetables, whether your house is clean, whether you make homemade bread, if you have a great relationship with your teenager, whether your adult children make the choices you agree with.
7:01
SPEAKER_00: And then of course we have social media.
7:04
SPEAKER_00: Because now we're not just comparing ourselves with the moms we actually know.
7:09
SPEAKER_00: We're comparing ourselves to thousands, thousands of tiny snapshots of other people's motherhoods.
7:17
SPEAKER_00: Their kids got an award, their family went on this beautiful vacation.
7:22
SPEAKER_00: Their teenager tells them everything and they have a magical relationship.
7:26
SPEAKER_00: Their kids are all smiling and matching outfits.
7:29
SPEAKER_00: Meanwhile, you're standing in the kitchen thinking, what am I doing wrong?
7:34
SPEAKER_00: But here's the problem.
7:35
SPEAKER_00: If my identity as a mother comes from my children's performance, I'm always going to be insecure because I can't control another human being, even if I gave birth to them.
7:48
SPEAKER_00: This is something I'm really having to learn, especially as the kids get older.
7:52
SPEAKER_00: My children are not my report guard.
7:54
SPEAKER_00: Yes, I have an enormous responsibility as their mom.
7:58
SPEAKER_00: Yes, my parenting does matter.
8:00
SPEAKER_00: And yes, I can make mistakes that affect my kids.
8:03
SPEAKER_00: And when I get something wrong, I want to be humble enough to own it and apologize.
8:08
SPEAKER_00: But my kids are also individual people.
8:10
SPEAKER_00: They have free will, personalities, strengths, and weaknesses, and they're going to make choices and they're going to struggle and they're going to learn lessons I cannot learn for them.
8:20
SPEAKER_00: And if every time one of my children struggles, I immediately make it mean I failed.
8:26
SPEAKER_00: I'm the worst mom ever.
8:28
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to spend the rest of my motherhood drowning in guilt and shame.
8:34
SPEAKER_00: So what do we do instead?
8:36
SPEAKER_00: I've been thinking about some practical things that help me when I start to feel insecure in my motherhood.
8:41
SPEAKER_00: And I came up with five.
8:43
SPEAKER_00: Not five things that will make you a better mom, just five places we can return to when those thoughts start getting really loud.
8:52
SPEAKER_00: Number one, we're going to ask ourselves, is this actually true?
8:56
SPEAKER_00: A few years ago I went through a really difficult season with anxiety.
9:00
SPEAKER_00: And one of the things that helped me tremendously was journaling.
9:03
SPEAKER_00: Because thoughts can get really loud when we're just spiraling around in our head.
9:08
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes we need to put them on paper and actually look at them.
9:11
SPEAKER_00: Maybe your thought is this, I'm failing my kids.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: Okay, we're gonna write it down.
9:16
SPEAKER_00: Now ask, is that true?
9:18
SPEAKER_00: Or did something happen today that made you feel like this is true?
9:24
SPEAKER_00: Those aren't necessarily the same thing.
9:26
SPEAKER_00: Maybe the thought is my teenager doesn't need me anymore.
9:29
SPEAKER_00: Is that true?
9:30
SPEAKER_00: Or is your teenager learning to become more independent, which is actually what they're supposed to do?
9:37
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's everyone else's kid is doing better than mine.
9:40
SPEAKER_00: Do you actually know that?
9:42
SPEAKER_00: Or are you comparing your whole life to what someone else just shared publicly?
9:47
SPEAKER_00: Get the thought out of your head, put it on paper, and then ask yourself, is that true?
9:54
SPEAKER_00: Number two, separate your child's story from your identity.
9:58
SPEAKER_00: This is a big one for me.
10:00
SPEAKER_00: Your children's struggle is not automatically evidence of your failure.
10:04
SPEAKER_00: Your child's personality is not a reflection of your worth.
10:08
SPEAKER_00: Your teenager disagreeing with you doesn't mean you've lost them.
10:11
SPEAKER_00: Your child making a mistake does not erase every good thing you've poured into them.
10:16
SPEAKER_00: And I think Christian moms especially need to hear that.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: Your child's faith journey is not your spiritual report card.
10:23
SPEAKER_00: We absolutely teach our kids, we model faith, we bring them to church, we pray, we have the conversations, and we create opportunities.
10:30
SPEAKER_00: But ultimately, each one of our kids has their own relationship with God.
10:34
SPEAKER_00: I can't manufacture that for them.
10:36
SPEAKER_00: And when I try to make their story about me, I actually make it harder to see what God might be doing in their life.
10:42
SPEAKER_00: So I'm learning to say, this is their story.
10:46
SPEAKER_00: I get to love them, guide them, and pray for them while they walk it.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: This is their story.
10:54
SPEAKER_00: I get to love them, guide them, and pray for them while they get to walk it out.
10:59
SPEAKER_00: These are also good things to write down in your journal.
11:02
SPEAKER_00: You can have a whole mothering journal book.
11:05
SPEAKER_00: Um, I do.
11:06
SPEAKER_00: And I write all kinds of prayers and things I'm thinking for each kid.
11:11
SPEAKER_00: I love it.
11:11
SPEAKER_00: So if you don't have a mom journal, go get one.
11:14
SPEAKER_00: These are great things to start writing in that mom journal.
11:17
SPEAKER_00: Back to number three.
11:19
SPEAKER_00: Go back to what God says about you.
11:22
SPEAKER_00: This is where I wanted to spend a little bit of time today.
11:25
SPEAKER_00: Because during that season when I struggled with anxiety, I wrote something in my journal.
11:29
SPEAKER_00: At the top of the page, it says, I have a choice to change the way I have been thinking about my life and my calling.
11:37
SPEAKER_00: And underneath it, I start with I am statements that have been rooted in scripture.
11:42
SPEAKER_00: Because my identity cannot ultimately come from my marriage.
11:45
SPEAKER_00: It can't come from my motherhood, this podcast, Instagram, whether someone thinks I'm doing a good job.
11:51
SPEAKER_00: All of those things can change.
11:53
SPEAKER_00: But my identity has to be rooted in who God says I am.
11:56
SPEAKER_00: And I want to read some of these over you today.
11:59
SPEAKER_00: Don't worry about writing them down.
12:01
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to have them in the show notes so you can come back to them.
12:04
SPEAKER_00: Here are a few.
12:05
SPEAKER_00: I am equipped.
12:07
SPEAKER_00: Proverbs 31, 25 says, She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.
12:16
SPEAKER_00: I am loved.
12:17
SPEAKER_00: Psalm 103 reminds us how great his steadfast love is towards those who fear him.
12:23
SPEAKER_00: I am valued.
12:24
SPEAKER_00: Jesus reminds us in Matthew 10 that we are worth more than many sparrows.
12:30
SPEAKER_00: I am joyful.
12:31
SPEAKER_00: Psalm 68, 3 talks about the righteousness being glad and rejoicing before God.
12:38
SPEAKER_00: I can be thankful.
12:39
SPEAKER_00: Colossians tells us to be rooted and build up in Christ and overflowing with thanksgiving.
12:46
SPEAKER_00: I can be patient.
12:47
SPEAKER_00: This one's a little hard, but it's one of the fruits of the Spirit.
12:50
SPEAKER_00: And Galatians 5 reminds us that patience is a fruit that is produced by the Spirit.
12:57
SPEAKER_00: I might not feel it many many times in a day, but I am patient.
13:04
SPEAKER_00: I am gentle.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: Proverbs 15 says that a gentle answer can turn away wrath.
13:10
SPEAKER_00: Anybody else need that one taped somewhere in their kitchen?
13:14
SPEAKER_00: I sure do when all the kids are coming home from school.
13:17
SPEAKER_00: I am kind.
13:18
SPEAKER_00: Ephesians tells us to be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other as God has forgiven us.
13:25
SPEAKER_00: I am loved.
13:26
SPEAKER_00: I am loved because he first loved me.
13:29
SPEAKER_00: That's from 1 John.
13:31
SPEAKER_00: I am blessed.
13:32
SPEAKER_00: Psalm 127 says, Children are a heritage from the Lord.
13:37
SPEAKER_00: Even on the days when the heritage has left 17 cups around this house and shoes everywhere.
13:42
SPEAKER_00: I am blessed.
13:44
SPEAKER_00: I am peace.
13:46
SPEAKER_00: Isaiah reminds us that God keeps in perfect peace the ones whose mind is stayed on him.
13:52
SPEAKER_00: I am content.
13:54
SPEAKER_00: In Timothy, it says godliness with contentment.
13:57
SPEAKER_00: Contentment is great gain.
13:59
SPEAKER_00: I am hospitable.
14:01
SPEAKER_00: Show hospitality without grumbling.
14:03
SPEAKER_00: I am God's daughter.
14:05
SPEAKER_00: Galatians says that in Christ Jesus we are children of God through faith.
14:11
SPEAKER_00: I am a light.
14:13
SPEAKER_00: Philippians talks about shining the light into the world and to hold firmly.
14:18
SPEAKER_00: And I am holy.
14:21
SPEAKER_00: Be holy, because I am holy, from Peter.
14:24
SPEAKER_00: These aren't things I have perfectly achieved, believe me.
14:28
SPEAKER_00: That's the really important part here.
14:29
SPEAKER_00: I don't wake up every morning and think, I am patient, I am kind.
14:35
SPEAKER_00: Just as my family.
14:36
SPEAKER_00: Today, as I was yelling at the littlest one to hurry up because we were going to miss the bus.
14:41
SPEAKER_00: But these are truths that I return to.
14:44
SPEAKER_00: They're reminders of who I am and who I belong to and what kind of woman God is shaping me to become.
14:50
SPEAKER_00: Number four is we look for faithfulness, not perfection.
14:54
SPEAKER_00: I think we need a different measurement of our motherhood.
14:57
SPEAKER_00: Instead of asking, am I doing this perfectly?
15:00
SPEAKER_00: What if we asked, Am I being faithful with what is in front of me today?
15:05
SPEAKER_00: Did I love my kids the way they want to be loved today?
15:09
SPEAKER_00: Did I listen?
15:10
SPEAKER_00: Did I apologize if I needed to?
15:13
SPEAKER_00: Did I pray?
15:14
SPEAKER_00: Did I show up?
15:15
SPEAKER_00: Did I tell truth?
15:16
SPEAKER_00: Did I set boundaries that needed to be set?
15:19
SPEAKER_00: Did I let something go that needed to be let go?
15:21
SPEAKER_00: Did I ask God for wisdom?
15:23
SPEAKER_00: Some days faithfulness looks like a beautiful family dinner around the table.
15:27
SPEAKER_00: And some days faithfulness looks like picking up pizza because everyone is so exhausted.
15:32
SPEAKER_00: And some days it's deep conversation, shoulder to shoulder, while you're driving somewhere with a teenager.
15:38
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes it's just giving them space and learning that quiet is okay.
15:44
SPEAKER_00: One hard week or one hard moment does not define your motherhood.
15:48
SPEAKER_00: One difficult season does not define your family.
15:51
SPEAKER_00: And one mistake does not erase years of love and faithfulness.
15:57
SPEAKER_00: And number five, let people encourage you.
16:00
SPEAKER_00: And this is one I almost missed.
16:03
SPEAKER_00: The text from that friend mattered.
16:05
SPEAKER_00: The messages you guys send matter.
16:08
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes God uses other people to remind us of things we've forgotten.
16:12
SPEAKER_00: When someone texts and says, or when someone tells you you're doing a really good job, don't immediately respond with every reason why you're actually not.
16:20
SPEAKER_00: Take the encouragement.
16:21
SPEAKER_00: When someone says, I love the way you handle that, receive it.
16:25
SPEAKER_00: When your husband points out something you're doing well, listen.
16:28
SPEAKER_00: And when a friend reminds you of something she sees in one of your kids that you've been too worried to notice, listen.
16:36
SPEAKER_00: We need one another.
16:38
SPEAKER_00: Not to tell us we're perfect, but to help us see clearly what insecurity has distorted the picture.
16:44
SPEAKER_00: And maybe you need to be that person for another mom this week.
16:47
SPEAKER_00: Send the text.
16:48
SPEAKER_00: I see you.
16:49
SPEAKER_00: You're doing a great job.
16:51
SPEAKER_00: I love the way you love your kids.
16:53
SPEAKER_00: I'm praying for you.
16:54
SPEAKER_00: You have no idea what that message might arrive at the exact time it needs to.
16:59
SPEAKER_00: I know mine sure did.
17:00
SPEAKER_00: And if you are struggling as a mom, this goes along in the encouragement.
17:04
SPEAKER_00: I'm just popping it in here.
17:07
SPEAKER_00: And you have some really close friends that you want to share that with, a tight community, like you're not going out and telling everybody struggles, but a close group of friends that you can cry with and share a burden or a struggle with.
17:23
SPEAKER_00: I would strongly recommend you find a few friends like that, ones that are going to carry and pray for you as a mom for wisdom and for guidance and for the struggle that is being held or that is happening.
17:36
SPEAKER_00: I'm telling you, in these last few years, having friends to open up to and cry to has been one of the best blessings ever because we're not meant to carry this alone.
17:47
SPEAKER_00: We need our friends helping us and carrying us and being with us as well.
17:51
SPEAKER_00: So if you are in a hard season, if you're listening today and you're really struggling in your motherhood, maybe one of your kids is going through something, maybe you're questioning decisions you've made.
18:01
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're watching someone else's family and wondering why yours doesn't look like that.
18:06
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you feel embarrassed or guilty or you're asking, where did I go wrong?
18:10
SPEAKER_00: I want you to remember your identity is not found in having children who make you look like a successful mom.
18:19
SPEAKER_00: Your identity isn't found in having a picture perfect family.
18:23
SPEAKER_00: And your worth isn't determined by how other people perceive your children.
18:27
SPEAKER_00: That one's heavy.
18:28
SPEAKER_00: Your worth isn't determined by how other people perceive your children.
18:33
SPEAKER_00: You are going to have beautiful seasons in motherhood, and you are going to have really hard ones.
18:41
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes they are happening at the exact same time.
18:46
SPEAKER_00: But we keep loving, we keep showing up, we keep praying, we keep asking for wisdom, we keep apologizing when we're wrong, we keep giving them room to become the people God created them to be, and we keep coming back to the truth of who you are.
19:03
SPEAKER_00: You are a daughter of the king.
19:05
SPEAKER_00: You are loved, you are valued, regardless of what is happening.
19:10
SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's finish with our praise, prayer, and protein for the week.
19:14
SPEAKER_00: My praise this week is we have officially made it through the first month of school.
19:18
SPEAKER_00: Woohoo! And honestly, things are going really well.
19:22
SPEAKER_00: Mine is a few yelling mornings, like I just said.
19:25
SPEAKER_00: Uh, we're settling into routines.
19:27
SPEAKER_00: Everyone is getting where they need to go, and I'm just really thankful for that.
19:31
SPEAKER_00: My prayer um this week is twofold.
19:33
SPEAKER_00: I'm praying that the Lord would continue to show me the impact of this podcast, not because I need numbers or some huge audience, but because on the weeks when recording feels hard, which seems to be every week, those little reminders help me to keep going.
19:48
SPEAKER_00: And I'm also praying that I would continue to find my identity in him, not in how my kids are doing, not in how many people listen, not in what I'm accomplishing, but just in him.
20:02
SPEAKER_00: And my protein for the week, which is the very important part, is my current ultimate sandwich that I am obsessed with.
20:10
SPEAKER_00: I have been making this turkey sandwich on sourdough bread.
20:15
SPEAKER_00: So it is sourdough bread, mayo, cranberry sauce, sliced turkey, and cheese.
20:20
SPEAKER_00: Then I cook it like a grilled cheese, and after it's cooked, I open it up and add some crispy lettuce to it.
20:26
SPEAKER_00: Um, who wants hot lettuce in their sandwich?
20:28
SPEAKER_00: It is so good.
20:30
SPEAKER_00: Protein, carbs, cranberry sauce.
20:32
SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, it is a 10 out of 10, and I have been making it pretty much all week.
20:37
SPEAKER_00: So, in closing, this week, instead of asking, Am I a good mom, I need you to start asking, where am I finding my identity?
20:44
SPEAKER_00: Because motherhood is one of the greatest gifts and responsibilities of my life.
20:49
SPEAKER_00: But being a mom is not the deepest thing that's true about me.
20:53
SPEAKER_00: Before I'm someone's mom, before I'm Micah's wife, a podcaster, content creator, or stay-at-home mom, I belong to God.
21:01
SPEAKER_00: And when I remember that, I don't need my kids to prove that I'm worthy.
21:05
SPEAKER_00: I can love them without making their success mine.
21:08
SPEAKER_00: I can walk beside them through their struggle without making every struggle mean I've failed.
21:13
SPEAKER_00: I can give them room to become their own people.
21:16
SPEAKER_00: I can trust God is writing their story.
21:19
SPEAKER_00: If you're in a season where motherhood feels a little shaky right now, I hope today's episode felt like sitting down with a friend who could remind you that you are not the only one.
21:29
SPEAKER_00: Go check out the show notes because I'm putting all of those I am scriptures there for you.
21:33
SPEAKER_00: Maybe pick one or two that speaks to where you are right now.
21:37
SPEAKER_00: Write them somewhere you'll see them this week and start replacing some of those thoughts that have been taking over your mind with truth.
21:45
SPEAKER_00: And if another mom came to mind while you were listening today, please send her this episode.
21:49
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you get to be that encouraging text that lands exactly at the right moment this week.
21:54
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for letting me keep showing up here, even when I'm trying to figure it out alongside of you.
21:59
SPEAKER_00: I'll talk to you next week.
22:01
SPEAKER_00: Bye, friends.