Generation NeXt Parenting

The Shaping of Mother

In November and December I ran a contest asking:

What is one way motherhood has shaped YOU?

I'm taking your answers and running a series called "The Shaping of Mother". I was so blessed by your answers. Some serious, some laugh-out-loud funny! Priceless.

If you didn't get a chance to give your two cents, do so now. Just leave a comment. I'll be choosing one random commenter to receive a copy of Blue Like Play Dough when it releases in July.

Ginnie: I became more outwardly focused when I became a mother. Even though my daughter is an adult and a mother in her own right, I still feel a great deal of responsibility for her.

Christy: As my son's mother, I've learned how to listen and be a good friend. He craves time with me and for good friends. As my first child, he's the one who made me a mom and changed my outlook from inward to outward. As a teen mom, I was determined not to fall into a stereotype. I read every parenting book I could get my hands on and tried to be the best mom I could be. I read to him constantly and wrapped my entire life around him. Until his sister, Molly, was born. I truly did relish my role as mom. Molly taught me patience and she has made me enormously proud. While I often feel like an ATM and chauffeur, she is fiercely motivated to be the best at whatever she does, and I admire that about her. My youngest, Mia, has shaped my spirituality the most. Mia has a deep, amazing faith that astounds me. She teaches me something almost daily about what it means to truly trust in God's love. Recently, after a pet's death, I was devastated and could barely speak. Mia reacted with joy that Jesus had taken Dotty home and healed her body. Mia talks regularly about the "third Earth." For her the first earth was the perfect one that Adam and Eve had, the second is what we are living in now, the third is the kingdom that Jesus will bring when he returns. Mia can't wait for the third kingdom, because she knows that my arthritis will be healed, and I will be able to run and play with her. Mia pricks my conscience and forces me talk to God more than I would on my own. My children have taught me how to live with my heart walking outside of my body and they have restored the heart living inside of it.

Kristie: Motherhood has changed me in so many ways I never expected. God is constantly molding and teaching me things through my experiences with my children. I am so grateful that He has entrusted them to me.

Dawn: I used to be a very selfish young person. I did what I wanted to do without thinking about the consequences. Even though I grew up in a Christian home, I still put my parents though hell when I was a teenager.
I really didn't grow up until I gave birth to my first child. Immediately it wasn't about me anymore. I had to care for this life that needed me. It was amazing to truly understand how my mom felt being a mom - I was a mom too.

Being a mom has helped me to understand what love is. It helped me to see the importance of family. It also helped me to understand how much God loves us, because WE are HIS children.

I am so blessed to now have 3 precious children and a wonderful husband who loves the Lord. God continues to shape me as I learn how to be a better mom each and every day. Yes, there are mistakes and failures - but He uses them to make us stronger.

Thank you Jesus for giving me the gift of MOTHERHOOD.

Mandy: Since becoming a mother, I realize that I am powerless to control anything in this world. It causes me to rely on God so much more than I ever did before kids. As a mother, there is so much that we can't control the older our kids get. I have to trust God to get our kids thru it.

posted by Tricia Goyer @ 6:28 AM