Rediscovering Joy in Motherhood {a New Series}

Tired. Overwhelmed. Too Busy. Frustrated. Joyless.

Those first four words are often used to describe parts of motherhood. But that last one? Joyless?

Yep, that described me as a mom.

Somewhere along the line, in the midst of nine years of diaper changes, messy faces, frazzled mornings and late night wakings, I let the enjoyment of being a mom slip away.

Maybe that seems to make sense. I mean, being a mom is stressful! And rather guilt-inducing. And really, really exhausting.

But. I knew (and still know) that it is a worthwhile endeavor and is a calling that is a precious privilege. Yet I struggled so much, not with loving my kids, but finding contentment and joy in the road I was walking and the way I was mothering and trying to take care of my marriage and home.

What Happened Next

A few months ago I finally started to come to my senses when I noticed that I didn’t have a lot of enthusiasm for my kids. I was crabby all the time and felt like my little ones were distractions that kept me from being productive and that they were behaving the way they were just to annoy me, not really thinking about the fact that I could have been part of the problem!

With four children ages 8 and under I basically figured that if we all got through the day alive, I’d consider that a success (and honestly, sometimes that IS the mark of a successful day!!)

However, there was a definite pattern that I was falling into of not enjoying motherhood–simply slogging through the days and pretty much taking the path of least resistance when it came to dealing with anything that my children did or didn’t do.

This frustrating realization– that I didn’t have joy in my mothering– made me reevaluate my thought process on what motherhood was, who I was in all of this and my unreal expectations for my husband, my home and my kids.

The truth about this “identity crisis” changed me. Slowly, after thinking through these revelations, seeking the Lord and adjusting some areas of our lives that needed change, that joy I was desperately missing began to return.

Let Me Encourage You

I am still a work in progress. But God is truly restoring my joy in being a mom. That doesn’t mean that everything about motherhood is exciting or enjoyable or even that I’m enthusiastically “doing everything as unto the Lord”, but my heart has been healing and finding strength in the truth.

It’s also on my heart to share the truths I have learned and am learning over these past few months with you! If you’re feeling lackluster in your mothering, struggling to find joy in your journey or maybe wanting to change your attitude about being a mom but don’t know where to start, I hope you will find this week-long series helpful, challenging and encouraging all at the same time!

I’ve opening up about some of the “matters of the heart” when it comes to motherhood as well as some practical encouragement that can help you overcome the circumstances that may keep us from finding joy in motherhood. I want us to embrace being a mom wholeheartedly through the transforming of our hearts and minds.