Christian Feminism: The Southern Christian Mom

Have you ever wondered what an average day in the life of an American mom entails? Do you imagine what these Christians in the Bible Belt are really like? I’m a bit of a sociologist by hobby and social worker and clinician by profession, so I get to associate with and study a fairly large slice of the spectrum of Southerners. And having been a mom since fifteen years ago, I’ve been around a lot of mothers going through various stages of child rearing.

There are stay at home moms, work out of the home moms, and work from home moms (I have been all three). The life of moms of preschoolers differs greatly from the life of moms of teens. Mothers of multiples also have a different scenario that mothers of one child. And everyone knows that married moms have it a tad easier than single moms. Fourth generation parents also have different cultural experiences than immigrant parents. Finally, bible toting moms also live a different life than non-churchgoing moms. Diversity abounds in the metropolitan South! But take off the labels and demographic categories and I’ve found that people are just so relatable, so huggable.

Here is a quick list of general observations I’ve made of Christian moms in the South:

Too tired with child rearing, homemaking, and/or bread winning to participate in marches or protests; #aintnobodygottimeforthat

Too preoccupied with her kids’ proper development to debate global politics and their consequences; #notmycircusnotmymonkeys

Too concerned for her family and the economy to be divided on the controversial social issues of the day; #gottapaythembills

Too overwhelmed with housework and volunteer responsibilities to think of the next dream vacation; #blessherheart

Too focused on her kids’ needs to be mindful of her own fashion statement (unless it’s her Sunday attire); #mykidsmypride

Too frugal to throw away things that can be recycled, reused down the line, donated, or consigned; #imfixintofixit

Too humble about her own worthiness or abilities to toot her own horns; #praisetheLord #Shespeaks

Too aware of God’s lovingkindness in her marriage and parenting to complain bitterly; #bythegraceofGod

Too fearful of hurting or offending others to comment on controversial subjects online; #thanksbutnothanks

Too needed to just stay in bed to binge on movies and tv shows (okay, sometimes she does make time for herself); #downtime #momsnightout

Too grounded in faith that some guilt trips and protests just do not move her; #forgiven

Too burdened with her middle schooler’s antics that she starts doubting herself; #hisyokeislight

Too sacrificial that she realizes Christ’s sacrifice for her; #nogreaterlove

Too responsible to stay in the woe is me, feeling sorry for herself state of mind; #countyourblessings

Too strong to let the devil rip her relationships apart; #NottodaySatan

Too convicted not to pray, but also too convicted to pray; #quiettime

Too busy to read long articles, so I better keep this short! #busymom

Now I know that this list is a bit simplistic, and some of us are more of a beautiful mess than others. Some of us appear all prim and proper with good looking kids in tow and a smile to bless everyone. Others of us are struggling a little more visibly and do not mind seeing a therapist to put us together for the sake of ourselves and our beloved families. Still others of us just need our quiet faith and some bible study fellowship to keep up the show called life. But deep down inside, we are probably not very different from you.

Can you see yourself in parts of this list? Maybe you are not even a Christian, or a Southerner, but you are a fellow mom and you can relate? Let’s take off our masks and connect with one another. Let’s lift one another up in prayers and break bread with one another.