TEKONSHA, MI – After reviewing our family/church/school events Google calendar for the upcoming week, I wondered how I was going to get it all done. The week was full of sports practices and events for the older two kids, meetings at church for Roy, church functions, after school obligations, grades and paperwork deadlines. Before the week had even started, I felt that all too familiar feeling of overwhelming defeat.
I began running scenarios of who would need to be where and when through my mind, and all the other “to dos” began to creep in. I thought about the laundry that had sat in the washer overnight and would need to be reran, the papers that I hadn’t graded yet, the pile of clothes that were yet to be delivered to a local charity, the grocery list that needed to be written, and so on and so on. Irritation and frustration began to set in. Then, my thoughts were interrupted by our 5-year-old, “Play with me Momma.” In my head I thought, ‘Play with you? How in the world do I have time to play with you? You haven’t any idea how much I have to do.’ With his big blue eyes pleading me again, “Play with me Momma.” With a sigh I acquiesced to our youngest’s request to play.
As we played dinosaur superheroes in outer space (I love the imagination of a 5-year-old boy), my frustration and anxiety began to melt away. The smile returned to my face, joy flooded my heart, and tears filled my eyes. For a time, I let the to dos of this world interfere with one of the most important jobs God has given, Momma. For a time, I had forgotten that it is not in my own strength that I take on the days. I had forgotten that I am not enough for my children. I am not enough for my husband. I am not enough for my students. I am simply not enough, and that is completely okay. I am not supposed to be.
Moms, despite what cute, flowery platitudes you read on Pinterest or Instagram, you are not enough for your children. When you’re operating on four hours of interrupted sleep for the tenth day in a row, your strength will not be enough. When your teen is testing the limits of their desire for freedom, your patience will not be enough. When the marriage of your thirty-something child begins to crumble, your kind words will not be enough. The truth of the Gospel is that you are not enough, but praise the Lord you aren’t supposed to be.
Ladies, whether you are a mother, a daughter, a sister, a grandmother, an aunt, or a friend this message of a dependency on God and His grace is for you. This Mother’s Day, no matter if you have children of your own or not, draw near to the One for whom our strength comes. Foster a dependence on God for the grace and mercy to get through the day. Find rest in knowing you do not have to be enough because, “my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aryn Henry is a wife to Roy and mother to Isaac (13), Reagan (11), and Elijah (5). She is an avid sports fan, especially for anything that Isaac and Reagan are playing and the Michigan State Spartans, and enjoys exploring creation while kayaking and camping.