So God Made a Mother is Here! 🎉

I visited my friend in Cincinnati for the weekend. We had a wonderful time. We took our kids to the zoo. We ate massive amounts of Thai food and even splurged for our favorite hot fudge sundae’s- extra scoop of ice cream and without fail, extra (extra) hot fudge!

I mean come on, it’s not every day I see my best friend and eat foods I once took for granted. But now I live in a land far away (okay it’s not that far) but still, where I live, there is no Thai food and there is most definitely not my favorite hot fudge sundae!

The weekends with her always whiz by!

I packed my bags and tried avoiding the inevitable good-bye.

My shoes were not exactly convenient so I asked to borrow a pair of my friend’s flip-flops. You know the ones you can get from Old Navy for a dollar? Those were the ones.

I love a good pair of flip-flops and since I was just going out to the car to load up and secure the car-seat, I thought it would be easier than maneuvering into my boots.

I headed out to the car, but with each step I took, my feet hurt a little more. The shoes were perfectly molded to fit my friend’s feet. And my feet were most definitely not fitting into the mold!

I limped back into the house and slid out of the shoes quicker than I eat so as to avoid sharing food with my kids. (I know, I’m a mean mom.)

I wondered if it wouldn’t have been easier to take the time to put my own shoes on. I certainly would have been more comfortable and it may have taken less time because I wouldn’t have been wincing in pain with each flip and flop.

Isn’t it funny how life works?

We are constantly looking at the people around us, wanting what they have, envying someone else’s success, wondering why we couldn’t have been gifted with certain talents.

I find myself doing it far more frequently than I care to admit. I get caught up in the comparison game. I see what others have and I wonder why I can’t have it as well. I see other women with successful blogs or businesses and I wonder how they got there and when it will be my time.

As I walked around in my friend’s shoes, I was struck by the reality the shoe didn’t fit, because it wasn’t my shoe.

I tend to view life the same way.

Perhaps we are looking at others and wanting what they have, but truthfully it’s not meant for us. The shoe isn’t molded to fit us. We are all uniquely and beautifully designed by our Heavenly Father. He created each of us with a specific purpose. It is not for us to envy what others have or wish we had certain talents.

No, God designed you perfectly. He designed you with great intent. He designed you with purpose. It is our job to seek His will and fulfill the purpose He has laid out for us.

As women and mothers, it is crucial for us to put our comparisons aside and realize we all have one beautiful thing in common. We are daughters of the most amazing Father. He is ready to prune us and sculpt us to be the women He has called us to be.

I want to make a concerted effort to celebrate my fellow sisters in their calling. I don’t want to have envy or wish for x, y, and z talents. I want to be confident in who I am and the gifts I have been given. I want to break out of my fear zone and maximize my potential because of who He made me to be!

So God Made a Mother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our new book, SO GOD MADE A MOTHER available now!

Order Now

Shandyn Paul

Shandyn Paul is blogger and Christian writer who lives in a small town in Ohio. She is married to her best friend and biggest supporter, David. Together they have two boys, who keep life busy and interesting. She started writing her blog, http://wwww.theanchoredmama.wordpress.com/ because of a calling she felt from God during a 2am feeding session with her youngest son in 2015. She took a leap of faith and has been writing ever since. Her hope is to encourage and inspire others through God's Word.

The Grace and Grief of Being a Medical Mama

In: Faith, Motherhood
Hospital bed and IV stand, black-and-white photo

Medical mama—this title and this view hit me. It hits me at different times and in different ways, but it hits me, hard.  Some days, I crumble with thankfulness that God has such a specific plan for my sweet, golden, middle daughter, that He would make ways where it feels there is no way.  There are other times when it hits me with anger and bitterness because I can’t figure out why, in a world full of medical interventions, this is our “fix.”  It hits me.  In the wee hours of another night in the hospital, it hits me that grace...

Keep Reading

I Buried My Heart with My Baby but God Brought Me Back to Life

In: Faith, Grief, Loss, Motherhood
Woman in a sweater standing outside looking at sunset

Recently, my world felt as if it were crashing around me. I was so angry I think my rage could have burned a small village. Unfortunately, that rage was directed at God though I knew that wasn’t what I needed to be directing toward Him. He owed me nothing then, and He owes me nothing now; however, my heart was shattered, and for a while, it seemed as if my faith was crumbling with it. I stopped going to church. I stopped praying. I stopped all positive feelings and allowed myself to succumb to the pain and the anger. When...

Keep Reading

Dear New Mom, God Is Only a Whisper Away

In: Baby, Faith, Motherhood
New mother holding baby on couch, eyes closed

While we were waiting to adopt, I would wake up in the middle of the night panicky. My mind would wander to the thought of suddenly having a baby. With groggy eyes and a cobwebbed mind, I would ask myself, “Could I get up right now to go soothe a crying baby?” And then the insecurities would flood me as I thought through the difficulty of dragging myself out of bed to give milk to a fussy newborn. I didn’t know if I could.  With each application sent to agencies and social workers, the possibility of adopting a baby became more...

Keep Reading

Dear Daughter, You Gave Me Purpose

In: Faith, Motherhood
Mother holding baby, color photo

Dear daughter, Before God knit you in my womb, I was wandering around aimlessly, searching for a purpose. I had changed my mind several times about what I wanted to do with my life. I felt so much pressure to figure out what I truly wanted. I rushed into career ideas, only to realize I wanted absolutely nothing to do with any of them. I started grad school, only to quit in three weeks. I was crushed and defeated. I begged God to show me His plan, to give me a purpose. I begged Him to give me something I...

Keep Reading

God Holds Her Every Step of the Way

In: Faith, Motherhood
Mother holding infant baby's feet, color photo

We were told she wouldn’t make it to 20 weeks. When she made it, we were told she wouldn’t survive to full-term. When she survived to full-term, we were told she wouldn’t grow properly. When she grew, she thrived. When she thrived, she confused the doctors. RELATED: Keep Fighting, Little Miracle When the doctors tried to find the science to explain away her defeating all the odds, I had the answers. God. Prayers. Miracles. At 10 weeks when I found out about her condition, I prayed. I gathered my prayer warriors, and we prayed. Ultrasound after ultrasound, the technician was...

Keep Reading

Your Marriage Can’t Sit in a Laundry Basket without Getting a Few Wrinkles

In: Faith, Marriage
Couple doing laundry in front of washing machine

Bring on the bottled scent of fresh mountain breeze and seaside lavender. I’ll happily perform the swivel dance of transferring clothes from washer to dryer. I’ll hang those darlings with delicate personalities to gently air dry. I don’t mind the doing part. I’ll do laundry ’til the cows come home. It’s the folding part that I tend to put off. The cows have come home and gone to pasture several times, and that basket of clothes is most likely still sitting there developing more wrinkles than a baby bulldog.  And don’t even get me started on ironing. Let’s just say...

Keep Reading

Overwhelmed Mama, Take a Moment to Sit at the Feet of Jesus

In: Faith, Motherhood
Woman sitting in hallway, black and white image

Mama friend, I know you’re exhausted. It feels like you have nothing left to give. You know you need to take a moment for yourself, but you don’t know how. I know it all feels endless—like it will never be any different. I know you long for a week, a day, or an hour to yourself but take this moment. Put the baby in the playpen. Tell the kids to play in their room. Sit down somewhere away from the dirty dishes in the sink and the pile of laundry that has been waiting to be folded for days. Step...

Keep Reading

The Ring Came from a Stranger from Heaven

In: Faith, Living
Large ring on woman's hand, color photo

This ring is not much to look at now—a well-worn piece of turquoise costume jewelry, its cheap metal revealing its quality and insignificant cost. But the value of this ring, “The Ring,” rivals that of my diamond and gold wedding band. It is priceless. For me, it is tangible proof of how an unseen God orchestrates events, circumstances, and people to remind me that miracles do happen and that He hears me—especially when I hurt. I happened upon this precious keepsake at a time in my life when things seemed to be falling apart and when I was feeling very sorry...

Keep Reading

A Mother’s Day Kintsugi Birdhouse: Beauty from Brokenness

In: Faith, Motherhood
Broken birdhouse lying beneath tree, color photo

Seated at the sunroom breakfast table, mouth full of Special K, I glance out the row of windows. A flutter of gray-blue against white paint catches my eye. I quickly swallow. “Y’all, a bird just went inside the bluebird house!” We all stand in a row, mimicking the windows. Yes, my sleepy morning eyes did not deceive me. Tail feathers were protruding from the circular opening. At last, a bird had found its way to this little white house with a tin roof nailed to a lone holly tree in the middle of our backyard. This was not the original...

Keep Reading

A Mother Gives Everything for Always

In: Faith, Motherhood
Young girl kissing mother on cheek

My eyes flickered open and closed as I lay on the hospital bed after giving birth to my first-born daughter. The lights above me felt painfully bright as my eyes fought hard to stay open. Almost lifeless, my body had never felt so depleted. I lay there in a dream-like state, watching the world go on in full speed around me while inside I was in slow motion, barely strong enough to partake in the joy of bringing my daughter into the world. I had given every last ounce of myself, poured out until there was not much left. My...

Keep Reading