What a joy it is to be a mama! I thank the good Lord for my husband and the two little blessings God has given to us. “The fruit of the womb is a reward” –Psalm 127:3 and “Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants all around your table.” –Psalm 128:3
I begin with those verses because truth is found in the bible. It is absolute truth. If there was no absolute truth, then what ground would anyone in this world have to stand on? There’s a wide variety of religions that span the globe, but truth is only found in Christ (John 14:6). As a bible-believing Christian who stands on the Word of God, I share with you today about living the simple mom life. If you’re a mama, or a soon to be mom, I want to share some encouragement with you!
What does the simple mom life mean? Well, to be frank, the title of this blog post just came to me the other day when I had been home all day with my girls. I was sitting in one of their rooms hanging out with them while they played kitchen together. I thought to myself, “this is the simple life” as I grinned from cheek to cheek, just being in my children’s presence and the joy I felt. I had been home all day. I didn’t feel rushed in my day. I took time to play with them, read books, and had quality interactions throughout our time. We didn’t do anything extravagant or go anywhere, yet I felt like our day had been so full. Let me elaborate: the simple mom life–in my own words–means going through motherhood with ease, slowing down, enjoying the little moments with your children, and not being on-the-go with them 24/7; yet, you are intentional about the what’s, how’s, and things you do with them.
At the core of who I am as a mom–I am rooted in Christ. My identity is with Jesus Christ. The scripture I quoted at the beginning of this post is just a glimpse at what being a wife, mama, and a woman of God means. There is joy and fulfillment in knowing my Savior and having an intimate relationship with Him. He takes me through the valleys and leads me to the mountain tops–and God knows I need Him every step of the way in this life, especially in motherhood. Can I get an amen? This takes me back to living the simple life as a mama. I literally don’t have time to fill my life with things that only bring chaos. For example, social media. It’s been almost two years off all social media and I am thriving. (I need to make an updated post on that soon!) Another example would be signing up for extracurricular/preschool/toddler classes that fill my whole week up. I think some classes like that in moderation can be beneficial to your kids–but if all you do is drive all of your kids to their extracurriculars, then where is the family time if each child is doing their own individual thing and you barely have time for family dinner except two out of the seven nights of the week? Personally, less is more. Less is simple; and after all, I am talking about living the simple mom life. If doing ‘all the things’ works for your family, then keep on doing it! However, that’s not what I’m sharing here.
One of the things I think is important when it comes to living this ‘simple’ mom life is focusing on the heart of the matter with our children. That means caring for their well-being through a biblical lens. Proverbs 4:23 warns us to “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” We need to guard our heart and that means teaching our children how to do that–which means we need to lead by example. More is caught than taught, my dear friend! Show your children something–don’t just tell them. Focusing on our children’s heart posture and training them up with a biblical worldview is scarce in today’s world. But guess what Christian mama? Keep showing up! Lead by example and follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance as you hold fast to the promises scripture brings us as children of God. (The promises of scripture only apply to God’s children. Not all of us are children of God. If you are an unbeliever, then you would not fall into this category…but if you want to know more about Jesus then click here!)
When our hearts, and our children’s hearts, are aligned with Christ, then nothing else really seems to matter (I say this with a bit of extremism! Of course, there are a plethora of things that are important as we live our day to day; however, when God is my who, what, why, how, and where I go with my family’s life, then I can say that the things of this world are far-fetched to me!) Like I said earlier, my identity is found in Christ–and Christ alone. He is who lifts me from the ashes and makes me new. He brings peace to my troubles, He gives me comfort when I’m lost, and He gives me truth when no one else will. This seems complicated, Vanessa, I thought we were talking about the simple mom life? My dear friend, when you lay everything you have at the feet of Jesus, then life becomes very simple. If you feel distraught, stressed, lacking, or insufficient of your day’s work, then maybe there is something you are not letting go of. Maybe you are holding tight to something and not giving it up to the Lord? Is it control? Is it perfection? Is it comparison? Is it guilt? And the list goes on. Friend, now is the time. Surrender all that you are and that you have to the One and Only Savior of this world who makes all things new. In Christ you are a new creation–old things have passed away, all things have become new! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Say this prayer with me:
Lord, I am a sinner in need of a Savior. My soul yearns for more out of this broken world. Nothing fills my cup. Everything I run to leads me astray and causes me to stumble time and time again. I am lost. Please save me, Lord. I can’t do this life without You. In this moment, I call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and repent from my old ways. I choose to follow you from this moment forward and want you to be my Savior. I give my life to you, O Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.
Mamas, sisters, and friends, thank you for joining me in talking about the simple life, but also taking a turn to lead someone to Christ! (Romans 10:9-10) Glory to God in all that I have shared. Comment if you want to chat more about the simple mom life and what that looks like for you! I’d love to hear some more ideas about it and how slowing down in motherhood is a piece of advice any mama can take. Afterall, this life is only but a vapor–and it seems our children grow up so fast! As you go about the rest of your week, think about where your identity is found? How can you simplify your days and weeks so things bring peace and less chaos? Who can you share the good news of Christ with this week?
“The Lord is my light and my salvation? Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” –Psalm 27:1
Talk to you in the next one! Be blessed, mamas, sisters, and friends!
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