I'm really excited to share with you my sister-in-law's devotional for MOPS. Her transparency and honesty about the challenges that women face when they come into mommyhood is both heartfelt and encouraging. As a full time teacher, she can especially identify with those mommas who are struggling to find meaning in changing diapers after being in the corporate or business world. My hope is that this devotional will provide you with some fresh perspective and a bit of encouragement. ~Niki
As I debated about what topic to do
as a devotional, I kept coming back to one theme that I’ve really struggled
with these past “almost two” years after having my son…my identity.
Before having my son and staying
home to raise him, I taught PE for 10 years, coached multiple sports and kept
busy with various other activities.
After the birth of my son, needless to say, I went from going 100 mph to
nursing, pumping, changing diapers, nursing, pumping, changing diapers, more nursing,
more pumping, more changing diapers…and somewhere in there, maybe getting a
little sleep. Taking care of this little
life was a major shock to my whole system and way of living, and it was a
struggle for me…BIG TIME!
This
mommy thing was not as easy as I imagined and all those years of babysitting
did squat to help me out in the realm of real life mommy hood. All of the sudden, I didn’t feel like myself
anymore. Who am I? I felt like my identity was lost and I
couldn’t quite grasp onto the new identity of mommy because I felt like a fake
since this new role was so difficult for me.
It took me a while to realize that
my real problem was not that I lost my identity but that I lost sight of the
fact that my true identity is found only in Christ, not in my job, or my title,
or even in the things I excel at. I had
to first remind myself that I am wonderfully and purposely made by God—Psalm
139:13-16 says “For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my
mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your
works are wonderful, I know that full and well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the
earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of
them came to be.”
Not
only was I created by God, but by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, I was made a
new creation.
We are now daughters of the almighty
God, made to be co-heirs with Christ and invited to sit in the heavenly realms
—Romans 8:17 says “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and
co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may
also share in his glory.”
Though we may share in his
sufferings, we cannot underestimate the power of the cross and our resurrected
Christ, who gives us the hope and the power to overcome and persevere through
our daily struggles. Christ dying and
raising again invited us into a way more intimate relationship with God, who
through Christ’s death, was able to give us the Holy Spirit to reside in us if
we choose to place our faith in Him.
Romans 5:3-5 “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings,
because suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and
character, hope, And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out
his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”
So, I am wonderfully and
purposefully made by God. I am his
daughter and a co-heir with Christ, and through Christ, I have the Holy Spirit,
who resides in me. This is my identity.
Whatever season of life I’m in, whatever struggles I encounter, I am His
and He will not leave me. With that
being said, my purpose should not be to conform to the worldly point of view of
establishing my identity though things that only glorify man, like a job or a
title. With my identity rooted in
Christ, my purpose should be to live in a way that honors God and gives Him the
glory. Ro 12:1-2 says “Therefore, I urge
you brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a
living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper
worship. Do not conform to the pattern
of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to
test
and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will. The more I rest in my true identity, the more
I can fully enjoy the season of life God has me in. I’m not perfect and yes, it’s still hard not
to compare myself to other “super moms” when I am struggling with this phase of
my life, but again, the more I rest in Him, the more I am able to enjoy this
season and I am honored. God blessed me
with the opportunity to be mommy to this beautiful little boy.
One
of the reason’s I love Mops is because we need other strong woman around us to help
encourage us to stay grounded in God’s truth.
Anah lives in Sioux Falls, S.D. with her husband, Neil, and their little guy, William. When she's not potty-training William or hanging out with the Faith Baptist MOPS group, she tries to regularly exercise. Sometimes she even squeezes in a walk or some precious reading time.
