Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Guest Post: Keri from Living in This Season

I met Keri from Living in this Season via this great big blog world.  She is one of the sweetest ladies around.  On her blog, you'll find everything from DIY projects to delicious recipes, but something I love most about Keri is the genuine care that emulates from her.  She's so incredibly graceful and full of love for others.  She's one of those women who you wish you could sit and talk with over a hot cup of coffee.  She's sharing a bit about grace here today.  Enjoy!

Growing up I always envisioned myself having a house full of kids. I imagined an organized home, kids that were always dressed perfectly, behaved... you get the picture. Now I look back at this and laugh... It is a rather unrealistic picture, isn't it mama friends? 

Motherhood is downright messy. You find yourself doing things you always said you wouldn't (allowing the toddler to climb into bed with you because you are too exhausted to care). And then in the midst of it all, we are so hard on ourselves. There have been many times I've wanted to crawl under a rock rather than reveal the reality- oh goodness yes my 5 year old has some tantrums or that sometimes my kids watch tv for way longer than they should, or that peanut butter and jelly is the lunch here. Everyday. We judge ourselves for such silly things! We loose our temper and immediately beat ourselves up... What if instead of all the judgement we gave ourselves grace? 

Motherhood is hard, parenting is exhausting. You may look at the mama with the organized house and think how does she do it? But maybe she is looking at you with the cute haircut and clothes and thinking how does she do it? 

We each have areas we are going to excel in and focus on. It's okay. We are all going to parent differently- Yay for that! Wouldn't the world of women be so much nicer if there was less judgement and more grace? 

Let me encourage you with this thought and challenge. The next time you start beating yourself up over a burned dinner or a child who completely looses it in public, stop- chances are someone who is watching has been there: they understand. Give yourself grace. Pick up the pieces and remember you are amazing sweet mama. You are doing a beautiful thing and a good work ministering to your family. 

I would love to connect with you... stop on over and say hi here!

3 comments :

  1. Thank you for having me share a little of my heart- you are so sweet and kind!

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  2. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I've had so many Momma's stop and help me at the store now that I've got an infant and a 2 year old. They watch me struggle to get the toddler in the cart while balancing a baby in my arms. And they come over and hold the cart or lift my toddler for me. Something SO tiny is huge help to me, especially when they said "I remember what that was like". Just know I'm not the only one :-) Great post!

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