Why I am a Good Mom
If you come from a background like mine, you probably do not flatter yourself a whole lot. I grew up in a family where there were high expectations (nothing wrong with that). However, if high values, expectations, standards and traditions are not passed on in the right way, it can open the door for perfectionism and lack of satisfaction in life. Unfortunately, I have many times in my life allowed this door to be opened and found myself entertaining feelings of guilt and lack of adequacy as a mother. Parents, be ware of any of these unhealthy feelings. Condemnation and conviction are two different things. You may feel convicted that as a parent you have areas to improve, which is good to realize and acknowledge. When we feel condemnation and guilt, we need to rebuke these feelings as lies. Truth is that none of us are perfect or have it all put together, and if we do, it is momentary until the next thing comes up. I believe that this is why God has been such a blessing in my life. Where I come short, He fills in the difference. He guides me and gives me hope.
Last night one of my kids threw a tantrum and at the beginning I handled it well, but as her tantrum and disobedience persisted, I threw a tantrum of my own. This left me with feelings of failure. However, I was reminded of a thought that God had put in my heart. THINK OF ALL THE MANY REASONS WHY YOU ARE A GOOD MOM. With this in mind, I decided to eliminate the lies of failure and spent time thinking of why I am a good mom! Funny enough, when I was working on my masters years ago, we had a church growth class, in which they taught us to improve the lowest areas of a church, through the strongest areas. For example if you had a great team of greeters, but dying small groups, one of the things you could do, is to get your greeters involved in the small groups to bring a welcoming environment. So today, I am going to tell you why I am a good mother and I also want to challenge you to think why you are a good parent? By doing this, I hope to strenghthen the lowest areas in my parenting through the areas that I am good at.
I AM A GOOD MOTHER BECAUSE:
1. I love God. I am a believer in the most amazing and loving God and I long to know Him intimately daily through Reqding the Bible. I believe that this makes me a great parent. Because of this, I can also bring my kids to God in prayer instead of worrying so much. In Him I find peace and wisdom beyond my understanding.
2. I love my children. I love my children so much to the point of not giving up on myself as a parent and allowing feelings of inadequacy to take over. I also love my children so much that I am willing to make changes and sacrifices so they can have the best. I want my children to know and feel that they are loved. I tell them and try to show it to them constantly. I am a big hugger and I constantly hug them and let them know how much I love them. This has helped me, when we have a moment or tension, or feel tempted to nag at them, to just break the ice on both ends by hugging them and not saying anything.
3. I am a hard worker with good work ethics. For three generations my family has value hard work and it is my desire to pass that on to the fourth generation. I have noticed that for the most case, my kids do not mind hard work, especially when we do it together, so I capitalize on this and as much as I can, I work on chores and projects together, which gives us quality time and better conversations. My kids LOVE TO TALK NONE STOP. When we work on projects together, I find that they are able to focus and have meaningful conversations with me as oppose to their constant battle to have my attention by out-talking each other.
4. I love cooking and this makes me a great parent because my kids love to cook too and I can use the cooking time as a bonding time. I go to the park with my kids because they like it, but I do NOT! However, when we are cooking, its a win win, for all and definitely help us bond, not to mention great occupational therapy for my youngest.
Sometimes I can be too uptight, which is not the best, however, when I am cooking with them, doing projects or chores, when I am kissing and hugging on them, I find fulfillment as a parent as I create a connection and a bond with them and teach them life-lessons. I may not be good at everything in parenting, but with the things that I am good at, I intend to help me improve on the areas where I am weak at, like patience.
I am a good parent and so are you. I intend in a humble way to remind me of this more often. After all, if God chose me to be the parent of my children, is because He knew that I could do it. Let us focus on the strengths and not the weaknesses. Remember, you and I rock as a parent!
