Chosen

Here's the article I wrote for the October MOPS newsletter...

I got hooked on this TV show recently called “Switched at Birth”. I watched the whole first season, thanks to Netflix instant streaming. Basically, two teenage girls discover they were switched in the hospital. They spend most of the episodes trying to decide where they fit—exploring the family they might have been a part of if things had been different.

It made me think about our children. It’s no accident that your children are in your family. Whether you became a mom by childbirth, marriage, or adoption—you were chosen by God to parent your children. You are uniquely designed to meet their needs. You are the one God has asked to guide, nurture, and direct their steps into adulthood. It’s a major responsibility, isn’t it?

I wish that children came with manuals—but that would take some of the fun out of the adventure of discovering who they are and how they are perfectly fitted into your family. Our families are all different—some crazy, some more serious, some have been established for a long time, and others are new.

Wherever you’re at in parenting—a first time mom to an infant, or seeing your youngest go off to school, or maybe even a mentor mom facing an empty nest—we all have things to learn as moms. We all have needs and desires, challenges and opportunities.

Aren’t you glad for other moms? Aren’t you glad for their wisdom and experience? On those days when you wonder if you really are a good mom, remember, you were chosen for a reason. Your child is in your family for a reason. Decide to be a better mom, whatever that looks like. Decide to learn something new. Decide to pass on something you’ve learned to someone else.

After all, you and your child have a unique bond that you won’t share with anyone else—take advantage of it!