the Ministry of Motherhood

I am not the first to have this realization, and it's not even my first time having this awakening, but lately my heart has awakened to the utter profundity of the ministry of motherhood.

I have always known I was called for ministry.

When I was in college, one night at a ministry revival I felt God tell me that my life was going to be devoted to the ministry of telling people about Him.  First I planned on being a worship leader and youth pastor, but that quickly fell through when I learned I couldn't play guitar or sing and needed too many naps for youth.  Then I was going to be a young adults pastor, then focused on small groups, then looked mostly at teaching, then teaching in a college setting, then women's ministry, then ministry to the poor, then then then….

Ministry in my world in a common sense of the word continues to evolve in my life and heart; and seems it will not be a place that I arrive in but rather the journey of serving Jesus and others.

And yet, my most profound and important ministry happens every day in my home.  The two beautiful children God has given me and the incredible husband whom I married are my primary ministry   A ministry that is so easy to not take seriously, so easy to overlook, so easy to ignore, so easy to wish away.  Motherhood is the most exhausting, time consuming, frustrating, and soul-stretching ministry I have ever embarked on.  I never knew what a ministry it really would be and what an incredibly great and precious thing God entrusted me with as a mother.  There are few thank-you's and rewards and many times I feel broken in the blaringly clear mistakes I have made.

But motherhood is the place where I see God the most at work, and find myself most forgiven as I fall short of what is needed of me.  God daily shows me love, life and laughter through my children.  Over and over again I am forgiven by my husband and reminded of the beauty of God as I look into my children's eyes.  The ministry is not something still to come but the full plate of today and it is an utter gift from God.

May we joyfully receive what God has given us today; and for me, today I fully embrace the ministry of motherhood.  Thank you Jesus.

The Making of a Momma

This weekend is Mother’s Day and my heart swells for many reasons.

First I think of my own momma who is such an incredible and wonderful woman.  She is seriously filled with the craziest joy and energy.  She loves people, loves counselling (the call on her life), she loves FOOD, she loves laughing, she loves learning, she loves helping others learn, she loves her husband, she loves her daughters, she is OBSESSED with her grandkids, and she adores her extended family.  Alicia Collins is an unforgettable lady to anyone she meets, but I am blessed to call her mom.  She bottles all her insane love and shoots it into our world.  She cries with us, laughs through everything, does ANYTHING to make her grandkids laugh, and just enters into every part of our world.  She covers us in prayer and releases us to do God’s work even though she would rather kidnap us and hide us in her basement.  She is a mom who has evolved to be the BEST mom of this family, loving us fiercely and releasing us to the world for God’s glory.

Happy Mother’s Day Mom.

Next I think of all the incredible moms I have mothering beside me in life.  I know single mothers who give everything in their lives to provide for and love their children.  I know older mothers who are now raising their grandchildren and do it with grace and joy.  I know mothers who love their kids beautifully and somehow love the rest of the world around them sacrificially.  I know stay-at-home moms and work-all-day moms and everything in between.  I have so many incredible mothers around me, and they even ‘mother’ me sometimes (which is desperately need and secretly love).  I am in an incredible company of moms who are warriors and lovers and heroes.

Happy Mother’s Day Friends.

Finally, I think of Mother’s Day in my own home as I am privileged to be the mother of the two coolest and sweetest kids on the planet.  These kids have truly ‘made’ me into a mother, but it also happened in the shadow of my own mother and next to my company of mothers.  But in my own home, every day, in the tiniest of ways, I get to love Kieren and Keller and guide them towards a full life and Jesus.  Some days I think my heart will EXPLODE with joy after one of their sweet looks or an unprompted hug.  Being a mother is such a great joy.  It brings you to the highest highs and in it you experience some of the deepest pains you have ever known.  Every day you love your kids from your guts and continually release them into the big bright world.  It is both love and release.  It is beautiful and it is heart-wrenching.

The making of THIS momma has not been easy.  I have been made over many days and many experiences, many bouts of laughter and many tears, in many dance parties and many bedtimes stories, in many kisses and in many hugs.  Kieren and Keller have made me mommas, but you all have made me a momma.

And one day when my children are gone and my home is empty my heart will be FULL remembering these days and the tiny precious moments that made this momma.

Thankful and grateful and PRAISING.

Happy Mother’s Day to you all.