Time Out for Mommy

I had a Mommy day today. And not a "mommy please do this, Mommy, please do that" day, either. (Those are a little more common than the rare day I experienced, and I am not quite so inclined to celebrate them...although I must interject that I do really love my life despite its seemingly endless demands.) It was a much needed away-from-kids-and-responsibilities day. It was a day to feel rejuvenated, uplifted, inspired, and changed for the better. A spiritual spa day, if you will. For my birthday, my mom took me to something called Time Out For Women, a program of amazing speakers whose job it is to essentially make me feel better. About life, about myself, about all of the things that I am called upon (or put upon myself) to do. And boy howdy, I loved every minute of it.

I wish that I could list, right here, all of the amazing things that I am taking away from this experience, all of the times that I laughed or cried or felt the amazing power of the Lord's love me and for all of His children. Yet, at the risk of sounding trite or overly simplifying something so unspeakably awesome, I must refrain from that laundry list.

But I will say one thing that I have learned that I hope to never unlearn or forget again.

Women are amazing creatures. We are resilient, we are talented, we are giving, we are powerful, we are industrious, we are brilliant, we are strong. And we are too hard on ourselves. If we could spend even 5 seconds seeing ourselves the way the Lord sees us--as the gifted, wonderful beings that we are--our lives would change immeasurably for the better. Now, of course, I am not saying that we should stop doing what we can to become better each day. But I am saying that what we can give is enough, however much or little it may seem, as long as we are in a partnership with the Lord.

So, painful as it may be, I am going to start forgiving myself for not being perfect, for falling short day after day after day. And I am going to start loving myself for what I do have to offer, not cursing myself for what I can't manage to accomplish, or learn, or master.

I think it's time we all do that.