If you give a mom a village...

If you give a mom a village…she will never walk alone. I have learned this truth in a very real way over the last three years. When our oldest daughter was almost a year old, my husband and I followed God’s call and left the church we had met and been married in. We felt God was leading us to attend a church that was closer to home, even though that meant leaving friends, and the opportunity to see my husband’s side of the family on a weekly basis. To be perfectly honest, I was terrified of making new friends and finding my place within a new community. I was struggling as a new mom – finding my footing as a parent wasn’t coming as easily as I had thought it would. I made a few friends at our new church fairly quickly, but didn’t really let myself believe that they would become “deep” friendships – the kind that have substance.

The first autumn after we started attending our new church, one of these friends started up a program for moms on Friday mornings at the church. Older women so graciously gave of their time each week to watch our many young children, so we could connect and caffeinate ourselves while our little ones played. Sometimes, the conversation turns serious. Other times, we spend thirty minutes discussing boogers. This program has been such a gift to the women in our church community and beyond. The need for deep and meaningful connection crosses the borders of religion, age, opinion, profession, and marital status. Over the last few years, I have had the beautiful privilege of bonding with some truly incredible women. We have laughed, wept, and prayed together countless times. We’ve given each other the strength to be vulnerable.  We’ve delivered food, celebrated new babies, lifted each other in prayer, and held space for one another in such a genuine way.  We have all realized more and more our deep need for Jesus.

Tonight, we helped one of these wonderful women and her family, the lovely soul who spearheaded these Friday morning connection times, pack up their home to move. I’ll admit – my heart was breaking a little the entire time. God brought her into my life in His perfectly ordained timing. I am so very grateful to her for realizing that there was a need for a time and space for moms to connect with one another. I know that even though she will no longer physically be with us on Fridays this fall, the foundation that she has helped lay is strong. We will keep building onto it, brick by brick. We can’t do this alone. We need Jesus. We need each other. Motherhood is hard. Wonderful. But hard. When sharing that hardness with others, hearing a “me, too” can be so healing, so freeing. These women have given me a place to share my heart without fear of judgement. I will never take this beautiful village for granted. I hope and pray that if and when my own daughters become moms someday, that they find one that is just as loving, supportive, hilarious, and Christlike as mine is.