Mother's Day Breakfast

On Tuesday, May 12 Mom's Connection met at Shoney's Restuarant for our Annual Mother's Day Breakfast. We had a great time together being child-free for a few hours. After breakfast roses were handed out to all the moms. Lisa Fraley spoke on being the best mommies we can and leaving the rest to God! You may read below her word of encouragement.

Our Harvest is on the Way

My mother asked me when I was five years old, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" And I said, "a mommy". Just like many of you, I wanted to be a mommy more than anything. Many of my choices in life have revolved around making that happen. However I didn't know that being a "mommy" was going to be the hardest thing I ever did. I didn't know that having a child is like your heart walking around outside your body. I'm sure you didn't either. You can't control everything that happens to them. You can't protect them from everything and everyone. It challenges us daily.

As moms who put aside their own personal aspirations to be at home with their children, I know you want to be the best mommies. We all want to be the best mommy we can. For me, it's the one thing I really want to do perfect because I can't think of the alternative. What if I mess up? My children could live with the consequences the rest of their lives. What if I don't correct a behavioral issue, or miss the diagnosis of an illness? What if I turn my eyes for a second and something terrible happens to them? What if I don't see a relationship with God evident in their lives?

So many things are out of our hands. However, we can release our children into God's hands. In The Power of a Praying Parent, Stormie Omartian writes, "We can't be everywhere. But God can. We can't see everything. But God can. We can't know everything. But God can. What we can do is live according to God's Word and pray about everything. We can trust God to take care of our children even better that we can. When we release our children into the Father's hands and acknowledge that He is in control of their lives and ours, both we and our children will have greater peace." I know in my own life God has never left me. I felt the Holy Spirit with me at home, at school and everywhere I went. I know my children will too! Let your faith in God be bigger than your fear of the unknown.

As imperfect human beings, it is impossbile for us to be perfect parents. But we can point the way to the One who is perfect. In Being A Great Mom, Raising Great Kids Sharon Jaynes writes, "The mother whose children rise up and call her blessed is a Seed Sower. She gathers good seeds from God's Word and presses them into the fertile soil of her children's heart. She fertilizes the seeds with encouraging words, spurring them to grow to their fullest potential. And she waters the seeds daily with prayer. Then one day the tender shoots burst forth, resulting in a bounty of fruit, and the seed sower celebrates the rewards of her labor." How glorious is that? When all our efforts in teaching our children God's Word and His Ways reaps a harvest!

"Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." (Galations 6:9) That's what this group is for to encourage one another in not giving up at being the best mommies we can. And on the occasion when we aren't the best or simply can't be everywhere we allow God to pick up where we leave off.

Lisa Fraley