The search for the perfect mother

By joannsblog2016 on May 9, 2021 • ( 2 )

The journey of a mother in search of a role model to be the perfect mother….

My deepest desire is to be the perfect mom. Each day I strive to be the best and each day I fall short.

So my journey of finding the perfect mom began. Notepad in hand, I observed mothers all around me.

She has to be the perfect mother. Mmm, nope there goes the infamous tantrum.

What about her. She has to be the perfect mother. Scratch that, she forgot to pack her daughter a lunch.

How about her? Late for school, again.

Wait this one, she is definitely the perfect mom. Kids dressed in pretty little dresses, smiles on their faces, walking into church. Wait what is that, one shoe and her white socks are black as dirt.

Perhaps, this lady, she looks wise and has older children. I’m certain she is the perfect mom and has it all figured out. Wait, what’s that. Her daughter just slammed the door and her cheeks are beet red with anger. Obviously, she isn’t the perfect mom.

Frustrated, I sat on the bench and began to pray.

“Dear Lord, my greatest desire is to be the perfect mother but it looks like I need your help.”

“My child, first, can you tell me what the perfect mother looks like to you?”

“I envisioned the perfect mom as the one who had it all together. Her children were well dressed, always on time for school, always happy and had a well packed lunch. They went to church with smiles on their faces. She never became upset and always kept it together.”

“That is quite the definition, my child. Would you like me to tell you what I define the perfect mother as?”

“Definitely! If I’m going to be the perfect mom, I need an example to follow.”

“My dearest daughter, the perfect mother is the imperfect woman that loves when she has no more love to give, that embraces her child when the smallest pain inflicts him, that gives her time and self beyond the hours that are available in the day. She is the mom that sometimes becomes angry when she sees her child in pain or taking a wrong turn. She is the mom that may forget to pack lunch because she was tending to matters of the heart. She is the mom that was late in dropping her child to school because she was up all night helping her child finish a project. She is the mom that recognizes danger, preventing her child from going on the merry-go-round, resulting in a tantrum. There is a perfect mom everywhere you turn around. She is not imperfect because she is flawed. It is in her flaws that she loves the children I have blessed her with and this is what makes her perfect.”

“So, God, what you are saying is that I can be the perfect mother as long as in my imperfections I love with the heart you gave me?”

“Yes, my daughter. Each time you do something out of love for your children, even if it doesn’t equate to your expectations or the world’s expectations, it does equate to the definition of the perfect mom.”

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers. May you always know that you are the perfect mother as you pour out your love to the children God has placed in your life each and every day.

Motherhood is a journey of joy, tears, struggles, restlessness and love. Perfection is not found in what we do or not do, it is found in who we turn to when we are weak, and need guidance. It is discovered in our faith and love of the creator. May you find peace in knowing you are perfect in your imperfections.