Super Mom?

Let me take you back to last year. My daughter went to preschool at a local church where the drop off time was 9:00-9:15. School started at 9:15. I had trained my mind to believe that 9:15 was my deadline to get her there. Why did I not decide to aim for the goal of getting her there at 9:00? Who knows? One morning as we raced in to my daughter’s preschool parking lot, my daughter decided to ask again like she did every morning “Are we late Mommy?” My answer was either: “If we do not hurry, we will be!” OR “Yes, I am sorry. Mommy will try to do better tomorrow.” This morning, however, my daughter said more to get my attention. She told me how her teacher had crafts out starting at 9:00 and the kids who got there early got to make the crafts. At 9:15, she cleaned them up. In her sweet little voice, she asked me if I could bring her earlier more often so she could make a craft because she rarely gets to. My heart tore into a million pieces. Instantly I felt guilt and condemnation come over me. How could I be such a bad mom? How could I start my 5 year old daughter’s day with disappointment? Why could I not get myself organized and make my life less stressful?

There were a couple mornings during the rest of the year that I got my daughter to school at 9:00 but it was not very often. I did accomplish something though; I managed to allow condemnation to creep in to my thoughts. I began to compare myself to other moms. They all seemed so organized, so neatly dressed and they never looked stressed. I put myself down because I could not be like them. They seemed to be SUPER MOM! Whenever I heard what my fellow moms were doing, it made me feel worse. They were baking fresh bread, doing a craft with their kids, sewing, playing make-believe, working in the garden, etc. Well maybe I am exaggerating a little bit. Truthfully, in my eyes, they sounded like SUPER MOM! Why can’t I do that? I can’t even keep my house clean.

I started to realize that I was comparing my weaknesses to other woman’s strengths. I was only looking at the good things they were doing because that was all I could see. I know I am not the only woman who compares herself to other woman. That is why I am opening myself up to you and admitting that this is something I struggle with. I don’t know what is going on at their home. No one is perfect and “the grass is not greener on the other side.” The verse in the Bible that has ministered the most to me during this time of growth in my life was Romans 8:1 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” God does not want us to live in condemnation or compare ourselves to other people. We are made in God’s image.

It is time to go back to that morning I was telling you about in the beginning. You thought I forgot didn’t you? J My daughter and I were getting ready to go downstairs to grab breakfast and head out the door. We were doing well on time but we definitely did not have time to spare. I called to my 2 year old son in the playroom to come so we could go downstairs. After the fourth time of calling his name, I went to check on him. I quickly realized that I forgot to finish dressing him after his morning potty break. We were a few weeks into potty training. As you can imagine, he had an accident all over the floor and it was not pee-pee! A few minutes into cleaning up the mess, I had to tell my daughter that she would be late for school. She understood and did not seem upset. I felt bad though. After walking her into her classroom late, I walked to the car holding back tears. It was a rough start to the day no doubt, but it was also a time to fight off the thoughts of condemnation once again.