Sunday, May 13, 2018

Braving Imperfect Motherhood

In honor of Mother's Day, I'm posting today instead of Monday. Hallmark would have you believe that this day has only one flavor. Read on for my experience.

Before experiencing motherhood for myself, I had this expectation that I was going to be a better mother than my mother ever was. That is, if I was ever going to be a mother at all. To be clear, I had a healthy childhood and my mother did a masterful job at caring for all of her children but as far as I could see motherhood was a tiring, messy task, with little to no reward.

These thoughts were so deeply ingrained, were it up to me, I would have lived my life to ensure that children were not on my radar.



Then I met my husband and began to see the possibilities of love.


We got married when I was 22, and I had my first child at 23 which was manageable at first. Then our family of three became a family of four. Then five. Somehow I went from not wanting kids at all to parenting three kids in three years with my patient, loving husband. Here was my introduction to full-fledged motherhood. My undoing came at the speed of light, and I had a lot to learn.

Read the rest over at Crystal Twaddell's Made for Brave Series, then feel free to leave a comment over here.

"When I called out to you, you answered me.
You made me strong and brave." Psalm 138:3

--Nylse

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9 comments:

  1. Your start to motherhood sounds a lot like mine: I married at 21, had first baby at 22, then had two more so that we had 3 under 3. I love your writing style. Can't wait to read more.

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  2. I married a couple of months before my 22nd birthday and had my first at 23. Then over the next 20 yrs. I had 6 more and a few miscarriages. Along the way God always provided women to help in the many different places we lived. Motherhood sure stretched me and taught me how important it is to depend on God. Thanks for sharing with us at the #LMMLinkup. Blessings to you, Nylse!

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  3. It's funny how God chuckles at our plans and uses children to show us so much more about him and his character!

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  4. Mothering is HARD! Anyone who says different....well I want to meet!

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  5. My children have also been the sandpaper God has used to round off my rough corners! Heading on over to Crystal's place to continue reading!

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  6. I hear ya. I was married at 20 became a mom at 24. By 28 I was mom to 3 boys. Motherhood has put me through a refining fire. I've come face to face with my brokenness, mistakes, and unhelpful habits. But, I have also encountered God as a fierce lover, faithful ally, and ever present friend. Some days God has to help me stop my negative thoughts to help me live as a mom, wife, and woman who is truly strong, courageous, and wise.

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  7. wow - high learning curve! after our first I told my husband - don't even think about it... haha - then two more, eventually! xx

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  8. I loved hearing your story! I have twin boys and so many times I wondered about logistics of moving 2 of them from place to place with just me. I don't have family nearby, so it's been hard having help and it's hard for me to ask other, too. But God sent me a wonderful neighbor, who's been an angel lately! He knows just what we need! Thanks for sharing your story! #sundaythoughtslinkup

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  9. Nylse, thank you for sharing your story with the Made for Brave community and for the truth that being a great mother doesn't require perfection but instead, a teachable and humble heart. Hugs!

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