Last Updated on March 20, 2018
Welcome to “She Says Saturday,” where we are pleased to introduce you to Shannon Williams, a member of our MomLife Today community! We invite you to connect with her here at MomLife Today or visit her blog at My Shannonigans. Be sure to leave a comment and share this post to support Shannon as she uses her voice to share her momlife with others! We also invite you to participate in our “She Says Saturday” feature by submitting a post for consideration.
Have you ever asked yourself that question? If you are a mom, I know you have. You can’t have kids and not question whether you make a difference or not. If you have teens, you talk, and the noise goes in one ear and out the other! (They can’t remember what you said the moment they turn around!) If you have toddlers, then you have the issue of repeat, repeat, and repeating. (Training is ongoing every day!) If you have infants, then you question what you can offer life if every day is spent feeding, burping, changing diapers, and praying you can get another moment of rest! Is there life outside of spit up and diapers?
Are you ready? Yes, you make a difference! You make a difference whether you feel like it or not. We live in a culture that likes us to believe our feelings are accurate and we should live out that emotion. If there is one thing I have learned over the years, it is that our feelings are real — very real — but often not accurate!
My feelings typically tell me, Why should I try or care because the rest of the family doesn’t seem to? That doesn’t give me the freedom as a mom to quit teaching, training, and living a life that shows them love — love being something I choose to do because often I don’t feel like offering it! I have never regretted giving it!
I think the most helpful quote I have heard over the years is, “Love is a decision!” Feelings will come and go. And motherhood is full of things I don’t feel like doing. I will not leave the things that are most precious to me up to chance — chance at whether I am in the mood or not. Whether I realize it or not, I am making a difference to my husband and my children.
What kind of impact am I making? Am I telling them that when you don’t feel like it, it is okay to walk away?
Or am I teaching them that relationships are important enough to fight for? We tend to fight for things we find valuable. Ask a soldier who fights for our freedom. Ask any couple who fights to have children when they have been told they cannot conceive. Ask a couple on the verge of divorce whether the fight to stay together was worth it.
We all won’t be great at making gourmet meals. We may not be able to keep a spectacular home. We may not be the ones who can sew, mend, or fix the torn clothes or broken toys. But each one of us can be the vessel the Lord uses to teach our family about love.
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4–7).
Moms, persevere and show your children that love matters. It is a decision. And it is a decision you have made!
