Ann on being a Mama

Ann Voskamp, one of our favorite writers, on the temptation to be a Super Mama:

And no matter how the craziness of this whole parenting thing all turns out: The reward of loving is in the loving; loving is itself the great outcome of loving. The success of loving is in how we changebecause we kept on loving – regardless of any thing else changing.

And it’s a relief, how hanging upside down on the monkey bars, things can come to you.

That maybe being the mama I want to be isn’t so much about being more, but trusting more –  trustingmore in the God of Hagar and Ruth and Hannah, the God who sees the angst, who nourishes the empty places, who hears the unspoken cries —  and answers.

That godly parenting isn’t ultimately about rules — but having a relationship with an ultimate God and His children.

That godly parenting isn’t  fuelled by my efforts — but by God’s grace.

That if I make God first and am most satisfied in His love — then I’m released to love my children fully and satisfactorily.

That maybe it all comes down to this:

My kids don’t need to see a Super Mama.

They need to see a Mama who needs a Super God. 

Right to the last of the light, into the last of the light, there’s this silhouette of a mother running free and barefoot with the kids, no socks at all.

This grace on ground like this.