Mom Pooch Perfection

Sweet friend, if you have come to this blog post hoping to find out the secret to finally getting rid of that famous “mom pooch” then I must inform you now; this is not that post. You see I am two years…and then some, postpartum from having my amazing son and I still have that mom pooch. Now I have never been one to have a super toned tummy but having a baby has not helped the situation. Over the past two years, I have squeezed my mom pooch into Spanx, high waisted mom jeans, a sweat wrap while working out, and have often stood in front of the mirror sucking in said mom pooch just to see how much better I believe I would look without it. I devoted much time and energy to prepping healthy meals, working out, and WAY too much focus on the way my mom pooch looks in pictures with my beautiful family. It is a constant struggle of a be better mentality and graceful acceptance of where I am. Frankly, it’s exhausting! And before I proceed let me clarify, no, I would not trade the cutest toddler who calls me “Momma” for the slimmest, toned tummy in the world!

Pregnancy and motherhood are those things that no one can adequately prepare you for. Granted, everyone has different experiences but I think we can all agree at some point pregnancy and motherhood is HARD. Yes, pregnancy is beautiful and magnificent in how the Lord created us as women to play this incredible role of growing a tiny human; but at the same time, it completely changes and rearranges the body we have known, to doing what is necessary to develop the precious soul inside. And if that isn’t enough then we have the task of laboring for hours, sometimes days to deliver this precious baby into the world. Then we get sent home with our sweet little one who may or may not sleep, may or may not eat, and who may or may not cry all hours of the day/night. We learn how to meet the needs of our tiny human, manage sleep deprivation, loads of laundry, post-partum care…all while attempting to get back to our pre-pregnancy body in an unrealistic time frame because that is what “insert name” did down the street who has 3 kids and has never looked more amazing! Sweet friend, if this is or has been you I promise you are not alone, I have been there with you.

Why do we as mommas put so much pressure on ourselves? The pressure to physically bounce back, the pressure to have it all together, the pressure to not only do ALL the things but to do them perfectly…pressure to, fill in the blank. Sweet friend, we were designed for more than UNATTAINABLE perfect motherhood, perfectly proportionate bodies, and perfect running households. Jesus never intended for motherhood to identify us, measure our self-worth, or increase our need for perfect self-sufficiency. Motherhood is a beautiful calling and one of the greatest opportunities for life, renewal, and dependency to take place. If anything, motherhood amplifies our need for unending grace and total dependence on a perfect Savior. It is not about priding ourselves on being “super-mom” but on humbling ourselves to know our limits. When we attempt to manage loads only intended for Jesus we become fatigued, frazzled, and probably a little feisty; unless that’s just me!

Matthew 11:28-30 tells us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” This verse references a yoke, not to be confused with egg yolk; I know I am not the only one! If you did not know a yoke is a wooden beam that is used between a pair of animals that enables them to pull together on a load; essentially halving their load and making it easier. Sweet friend, this is what Jesus wants to do for us! He is welcoming us to come to Him with every bit of our human momma exhaustion/unrealistic expectations and fully trust Him with our hearts and heavy load so that in return He may give us rest. Because being yoked with Christ yields rest and His peace ruling in our heart.

As mommas, we all bear burdens and become weary, in different ways, for different reasons, and often at different times. When we become weary, we are easily discouraged and often are not the best ministers to our souls. This is why we need each other to speak truth and encourage one another! So here is my question to us mommas out there, what if we stopped? Stopped pretending we have it all perfectly together and started being transparent and real about our struggles, the unrealistic expectations, and the need for grace, support, and Spirit-filled accountability from one another? Sweet friend, what if we relinquished the pressure to be perfect to the only One who is, our Heavenly Father, and allowed His yoke to transform, renew, and saturate our weary souls? Oh, what sweet rest that would bring!