You Are Enough

You are enough.
You don't need to sew all your own clothes.
You don't need to can peach preserves.
You don't need to be the PTA President.
You don't need to tutor your children in Latin or Greek.
You don't need to speak multiple languages.
You don't need to be a culinary artist.
You don't have to wear heals and pearls.
You are enough.

You may have to work.
Your floor may not sparkle and shine.
Sometimes the part in your daughters hair may be crooked.
You may find stains on your shirt that may never come out.
Your child may have chocolate at the corners of his mouth.
Your windows and mirrors may be covered in tiny hand prints.
Your children may lose focus during family home evening.
You may sometimes wonder why you are at church when all you do is roam the halls with a fussy child.
You may have a basket of laundry that needs to be done or dishes in the sink.
Your house may not be organized with cute baskets labeled in cute vinyl lettering.
You are enough.

My heart breaks when I hear mothers talk about how they dread mother's day because of feelings of inadequacy. I am surprised at the number of women who feel this way. A few years back, I was in my mother's ward and the lady who taught Relief Society that Sunday pretty much complained during the whole lesson about how she thought mother's day should be done away with. She said all it did was make her feel bad because she had to work and she felt guilty about it. She was embarrassed that her kids were often rambunctious during sacrament meeting. She didn't know how to sew or can or make homemade

pies or do all those other things that she supposed a good mother should know how to do.

I was sad for her because she didn't know she was enough.

Mother's Day isn't a holiday meant to honor only the mother's whose names can be found in the Mother's Hall of Fame. It is a day to honor those who are willing. It is a day to honor those who are ready to roll up their sleeves and do the hard things. It is a day meant to honor those who are willing to take on the responsibility of nurturing and rearing another life. It is a day meant to honor those who lose sleep when their baby has a fever, those who are left cleaning up vomit and those who are willing to buckle themselves into the passenger seat of a car and bravely place keys in the eager hands of their teenager.

It is meant to honor those who take the time to tie shoelaces and kiss away tears.

As mothers we are teachers, cheerleaders, taxi drivers, hair stylists, wardrobe consultants, chefs, nurses, life managers, bankers and a myriad of other things.

Do we have to know how to do everything to be a good mom? NO.

Some mothers are better at some things than others. But their is something you are good at; loving your child. You are enough.

Jeffrey R. Holland says it best in this short video.

You are a good mom because you try, because you are willing, because you love.

Mother's Day is not a day meant to shine a spotlight on the shortcomings of imperfect mothers. It is a day to celebrate those who are willing to get their hands dirty and say

"I love you" in the process.

I know you know this already, but it doesn't hurt to remind yourself:)

And by the way, I spent mother's day in bed with the stomach flu. (which reminds me, I need to do a post about tender mercies from our Heavenly Father)

And also by the way, I have the best mother in the whole world.

PS: this post is not because of anyone's blog posts. It is something I have been thinking about for awhile- I love all of my friends in the blogging world and I think every single one of you is wonderful!