My Instagram algorithm is pretty much all motherhood content. Reel after reel feeds me different messaging, and every post feels like advice I never asked for. I often turn my phone off and find myself carrying a heavy burden of shame, inadequacy, or even anxiety. Or I feel validated in how hard motherhood is and sink deeper into a pit of self-pity.
- This mom says to eat all organic.
- This mom speaks on the danger of screen time.
- This mom works out every day.
- This mom has a perfectly clean home.
- This mom paints motherhood as aesthetic and beautiful.
- This mom paints motherhood as hard and grueling.
The noise surrounding motherhood can be deafening. How quickly I forget that my standard for motherhood does not come from my Instagram feed, my mom friends, or societal norms. My standard comes from the pages of Scripture. My roadmap for motherhood is written by the God of the universe, who loves me, my children, and my family more than I could even begin to understand.
His way is much different than the messages communicated to me on social media.
The Beatitudes paint a beautiful picture of Jesus’s counter-cultural call on the life of a Christian. To the mom who often feels inadequate, overwhelmed, or carries the burden of shame, let these truths, gleaned from the words of our Savior, wash over you.
1. Blessed is the mom who knows she is not perfect, but who knows her Savior is.
Matthew 5:3 is the earth-shattering first line of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This verse is the foundation of the great paradox of Christ’s kingdom. The most precious gift of all—eternal life—is only given to those who have come to the end of themselves and found great lack. Citizenship in heaven is only given to those who know to their core that they are sinners in desperate need of a Savior. This applies as much to my relationship with Jesus as it does to my relationship with my children.
My children, unfortunately, will see the very worst of who I am. I am not always patient or kind. I am quick to become selfish and even quicker to seek out comfort and ease. My capacity changes in different seasons, and I am not always able to show up in the way I long to. My children have and will continue to see this in me, even as the Spirit sanctifies me. Without God’s Word, I would be tempted to despair. What good could ever come out of my sin and limitation?
Jesus’s call on my life does not demand perfection. Thankfully, Scripture does not say, “Blessed is the mom who never gets angry”; “Blessed is the mom who cooks every meal from scratch,“; “Blessed is the mom who responds perfectly to her children”; or “Blessed is the mom who never lets her children watch TV.”
Jesus’s way brings great freedom for the imperfect mom. Blessed is the mom who bends down and asks for forgiveness from her toddler. Blessed is the mom who declares, “Jesus saved me and made me new, and he can do the same for you,” in the wake of an imperfect moment. Blessed is the mom who makes frozen pizza for dinner after a long week knowing it does not change her identity in Christ.
Oh, the great freedom found in knowing that Jesus’s grace is sufficient! Our children desperately need the gospel above all else. Let every shortcoming and imperfection they witness point them to the perfection of Christ and the eternal hope that only comes from him.
2. Blessed is the mom who longs to be sanctified.
Motherhood provides a plethora of “pressure cooker moments,” which bring out sin that we did not know was in us. Just a few months ago, I was trying to nurse my newborn while my toddler was having a meltdown. At that moment, I thought to myself, “How does anyone do this without sinning?”
The freedom we find in Matthew 5:6 propels us to chase after righteousness: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
Jesus declares that those who see their sin but long for change and growth will be satisfied. Every hardship in motherhood is an opportunity to be sanctified, though hardships rarely feel that way in the moment. Somehow God uses this unpleasant process of being stretched and pushed to deepen our dependence on and our need for him. And even if we do not feel it in the moment, whenever we are dependent on the Lord, we are right where we should be.
Blessed is the mom who sees every hardship and hurdle of motherhood as a tool that will chip away anything ugly and replace it with something beautiful. Blessed is the mom who sees her shortcomings and longs for change in Christ. Blessed is the mom who can say, “This is so hard, but the Lord is holding me.”
3. Blessed is the mom who knows her reward is in heaven.
The way of Jesus is the long game. The story of Scripture points us to Jesus, who then points us to the eternity awaiting us. Our hope is not in nap time overlap, obedient children, sunny days, or health. Our hope awaits us at the end of our life where our new life will begin.
Blessed is the mom who looks, even with weary eyes, to the horizon of eternity. Blessed is the mom who talks about heaven with her children. Blessed is the mom who knows, even if she forgets sometimes, that her home is not here.
And on the days when that truth feels distant or hard to believe, the promise still holds. On days when you fall short, your Savior stands ready to cover you in grace. Blessed is the mom who lives in that amazing hope.
