I Am Not Enough, But He Is
by Heather Bock
This week I had the honor to guest post over at Carole Sparks’ blog, Intentional Parenting. I hope you’ll visit and read it there!
Here’s the start:
As a mother, I am broken. I am not enough.
Since the moment I knew life was growing inside me, I wanted so much to be enough. In fact, I wanted very much to be as close to a perfect mother as possible. I ate all the right foods, took the right vitamins, and slept the recommended way. When my baby was born, I read all the books, swaddled him carefully, and started him on solids, thinking carefully about which food to introduce first and watching for allergies each time.
However, as he grew, and as he was joined by his sister and later by his brother, I discovered my inability to be the perfect mother. Not only did I not always know the right way to parent my children, but I… (CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST)
Thank you, Heather, for your heart. You speak with great anticipation and humility. I hope you do not mind that I link your blog up to mine because I believe in what you do and how you say it. God Bless you Dear one.
I love your husband’s practical and honest words that, if your child needed surgery, you wouldn’t perform the surgery yourself. I am always amazed how God speaks through my husband or another family member or a friend. And that’s such a wonderful analogy to help us realize, we will never be ‘enough’ for our children – that’s a powerful thought, because we mothers sometimes (often times, for me) want to be everything for our children, and I constantly remind myself that I wasn’t meant to be! Thank you for your honesty and transparency – certainly ministered to me as a mom!
I’m so glad it ministered to you as a mom! I’m also often thankful for how God uses my husband to teach me.
Years ago, I was talking with a Mom a little farther down the parenting path than me and mentioning how inadequate I am. She told me something that has changed my bedtime routine ever since. Every night, she would go into her children’s bedrooms, either at tuck in or after they’d gone to sleep and pray over them. She would pray that God would fill in all the gaps of her parenting that day. I’ve done the same nearly every night since she told me this, oh what relief and assurance there is in knowing that alrighty Father God will parent them perfectly where I am imperfect!
I started praying over my kids every night several months ago—what a great request to add to my prayers! Thank you for sharing this!
This is so beautiful and real, Heather. Thank you for sharing because though I am not a mother, I can relate to this feeling of not being enough in other areas of my life–and praise God, He is the answer for both of us!
Thank you, Melissa! Yes, it’s not just motherhood that I’m not enough!