To the Mom Who Does Everything

To the Mom Who Does Everything, 

I see you. 

You get called “super mom”, and people say “I don’t know how you do it all”. Your Instagram is filled with pretty pictures of your family, your cute home, your homemade meals and fun adventures you go on with your kids. 

You talk about how much you love being a mom, and how sweet your children are. They eat (most of) their food, sleep fairly well, play together, and are crazy cute. 

And while most of that is true, people don’t see the life behind social media. 

They don’t see the evenings spent crying as your kids fuss, you’re trying to cook dinner and you have a huge to-do list on the back of your mind. 
They don’t see how many family gatherings you’ve had to sit out on, church functions you don’t go to, and friends you don’t see because all of your “free time” and late into the night is spent getting work done.
They don’t see you sip coffee with dinner because you have so much work to do after the kids go to bed, even though you’re ready to crash with them. 
And they don’t see how much you doubt yourself as you try to navigate motherhood, working, being a wife and taking care of yourself. 

For every project you finish and outing you go on, something else in your life had to be pushed aside to get that done. You try to do it all, but you can’t. You want to say yes to everything, but you can’t. And you wish people understood that.  

And being told that you can do everything, while it’s meant to be a compliment, actually stings. Because you know full and well that you don’t and can’t. You’ve tried and failed time and time again.
You think back to all the times you’ve put too much on your plate, and all the stressful days and late nights spent trying to meet deadlines.
You think about the days spent working and the pangs of guilt as you see your kids beg for your attention.
And you think about your husband who cleans, cooks and takes care of the kids so you can do what you need to do. 

To the mom who does everything, listen to me. 

It’s okay to ask for help. It’s okay to admit that you can’t do it all and to say no. And it’s okay to show weakness. 

Accept the fact that you’ll never do it all because you are a human, broken and sinful. Instead of letting your pride get in the way, humble yourself and look to the One who CAN do all things. On the days when you’re overwhelmed, stressed and guilty, share your feelings with someone you trust, and take a deep breath. We are not made to be able to “do it all”. We are made to trust in the Lord when we are weak, because through that His grace and power is made perfect. 

As Paul said to the Corinthians,

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 9-10

To the mom who does everything,  know that you are loved, cherished and appreciated, even when you don’t see it.