Happy (belated) Mother’s Day, everyone.

This Mother’s Day was destined to be an interesting one. I was invited to speak at my church with a panel of women, answering questions about motherhood and faith. I said yes, which was a really big deal for me. I have always kept my faith very private — I typically do not talk about it at all, with anyone. I have also had my highs and lows with the Lord too (more lows than highs honestly). But since stepping back from medical practice, I have been able to pour into Scripture more and it has honestly been awesome. I have found that I love learning about Jesus and exploring His humanity and divinity. Needless to say, agreeing to talk about my faith in front of the church was incredibly intimidating and nerve-wracking.

In very typical Mother’s Day timing, my oldest daughter came down with (what I presume was) Norovirus the Saturday before. This meant that my husband had to stay home with the girls while I went to church by myself so I could participate in the panel. On top of that was the fear that the virus would spread to the rest of us, especially me. This really just heightened my fear on stage because could anything be worse than getting sick in front of an audience??

Well I will spare you the drama, and just say that the panel went really well! Though I admit I was so nervous before going on stage that I had to take off my Garmin watch so I couldn’t see my heart rate. I only got to answer 2 of the 5 questions I had due to time constraints. But I thought I would share the questions I had and what my answers were to them here. Read along if you’d like.

A bit of a disclaimer first: my goal here is to convey how I view Christianity and Jesus Christ. At its core through Scripture, Christianity is an incredibly welcoming religion. But this is twisted and manipulated through society (and politics) to reflect selfish goals and ideals. So if you’re here and you’re not religious, or your religion is not Christianity, then don’t worry. I’m not trying to press beliefs onto you. These are just my views on my own blog, and you are still welcome regardless.

In what ways has motherhood (or spiritual motherhood) deepened your understanding of God’s heart for His people?

It’s got to be through my children. There is nothing more pure than a child’s heart. To watch them learn and grow and explore and love is truly a gift. My children show me what unconditional acceptance looks like. My 5-year-old absolutely loves to make new friends – she is not an introvert like I am – and once at the park after meeting someone new, she said to me “Mommy, making friends is so easy!” As adults, it’s not always so simple, right? But she reminds me that it could be, and it should be. Jesus tells us to love one another as He has loved us, and children are a great example of that. Scripture also tells us that the kingdom of heaven belongs to the children.  My job as a mother is to keep my children childlike in the eyes of the Lord, as they also teach me how to be more like them.

How can we as a church body do a better job of creating space for authentic relationships? 

Just be welcoming. I think church is a place where people often feel judged. It’s very easy in a new church to feel uncomfortable. We were a military family, and we moved around quite a bit. With that, we have experienced a lot of different churches. Some good, some not as good… And I will say that Eastside was very good from the start. I really haven’t experienced a church where I have felt so welcomed so easily. I felt like people really cared to say hi to me, to learn to my name. And that experience just grew, and it continues to grow. It’s even got me up on this stage, which is something I would have never thought I was that I was worthy enough for. Church is a place for everyone. There are no caveats or specific criteria for Jesus. So it really becomes our job to remember that, especially when looking upon new faces. 

In what ways do you think women can uniquely reflect the image of God to the world? 

This question definitely stumped me the most. It is very difficult to answer this question and not fall into traditional gender roles. But I do think that our experiences as women shape us differently than men, and therefore how we approach the world is often different. 

As followers of Christ, we are called to love like Jesus, irrevocably and unequivocally. Our experiences as daughters, sisters, and mothers, is what characterizes our unique reflection of God. It affects how we love each other, how we communicate with one another, how we share and listen. These qualities are not unique to women but it comes down to the nuance in how we carry ourselves. 

What advice would you give or lessons have you learned in different seasons of transition?  Ex. high school to college, single to married, no kids to kids 

Whenever we go through difficult times, or times of transition, we have to remember that it is God’s will and plan for us, not ours. We might not know what we are doing, feel flustered not having a plan in place, second guess our choices. We could feel like we are not good enough, or not ready. But all things happen in God’s time, not ours. We are not supposed to know the plan. But we are supposed to trust that the Lord is always leading the way. 

When we were in the military family, we have had a variety of times of transition. During the middle of both of my pregnancies, we had a PCS move and I would start a new job. We had a knack for piling all of the transitions on at once, often. And in those moments, there is lot of just putting one foot in front of the other. But each time I can look back, and I can see how God was shaping us. So it really is all about trust in the Lord that he will carry us through. 

What is a verse that has anchored you as a follower of Christ?

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and save the lost” Luke 19:10

This is kind of my comfort verse. It’s a reminder that Jesus comes to us, even in our darkest times. We are all broken and lost. It’s so wonderful to be seen in the those moments and be loved and accepted regardless.

You can watch the service here if you'd like.