Motherhood is hard. Mary, the mother of Jesus, the one that God entrusted to raise the SAVIOR of the world, LOST HIM FOR THREE DAYS.

If social media had existed back then, her mess up would have been one of the most debated topics on Facebook, dividing sides and splitting friendships.

There would be the “Justice for Jesus” group demanding the child be removed from the home because of irresponsible parents, there would have been the “Mercy for Mary” group because who knows what she was going through at the time and how dare anyone judge a mom. There would have no doubt been the ones that said humans in general should not procreate and everyone just needs a pet. And then there would be the ones who blamed the government. It would have been a circus, until it would be replaced by the next sensational thing. But thankfully for Mary, there was no social media for her mistake to be made public. Nope. She just got her misstep canonized. In the Bible. Forever and ever.

Mary’s story is one that I have referenced often in my motherhood journey. I wonder if when she was looking for Jesus she thought to herself “I asked the angel if the Lord was sure, I asked if He thought I was right for this job, and look at me now? I lost the kid. I KNEW I wasn’t the best for this task.”

Sometimes, when I’m looking at, or FOR my kids (depending on the day) I have often asked myself what I imagined Mary asked. Am I the best for this motherhood job? When I was battling so hard with post-partum depression I felt like I was the worst of the worst and that God had made a huge mistake in giving me children. Later, when I was diagnosed with chronic depression and serotonin deficiency I really felt that someone else would be better to raise our kids.

If I spend anytime on social media without guarding my heart I will begin to compare my journey as a mom with someone else’s life. As I scroll through posts looking at only the BEST PARTS of people’s lives I can start to think: I’m not as creative her, I’m not as physically fit as her, I don’t pack my kids lunches like she does, I don’t read to my children everyday like that mom, I yell, I get frustrated, I get angry, and those moms don’t. Then I’ll think “Am I really doing the best for our family?”

I was really, really struggling with that thought the other day. Am I the best? I have always tried to be transparent with this blog and as I’m sitting here writing this, I have to tell you that I hand wrote in my journal that I thought I should shut this whole thing down. I wrote, “What am I doing? What the heck is Stunningly Strong anyways? There’s other people who are better at this. Other women who have ministries and are doing things better. I’m struggling just to feel adequate for my family, to feel like a good mom and a good enough wife. Maybe Stunningly Strong just isn’t right. Maybe I should let the other women I know, who have movements and churches and conferences just do it, after all they are better and they have a longer reach than I do.” I shut the journal with tears running down my cheeks and went to bed.

The next morning as I was reading my devotional all I could hear where these words and later I posted them:

🏆There will always seem to be someone better than you for the role, 🥇but God doesn’t always ask for THE best, He asks for YOUR best.🏆So, are you going to ignore Gods calling for you and let those you believe are better for God’s plan step in and do it? 🤷🏼‍♀️ Or are you going to step up and do YOUR best to fulfill the calling God has specifically for the ‘better than average’ you?#challenge: I was created for something #better! #Hashtag #BibleReadingPlan

See that? There will, without a doubt always be someone better but God didn’t ask them to raise your kids or do your job or be who you are. All He wants from you and me is OUR BEST.

I bet when Mary was searching for Jesus the Lord whispered to her heart “I am still sure. I don’t need you to be the best. I just need your best.”

So this Mother’s Day, rest in the assurance that you don’t have to be the BEST. You just need to be YOUR best. Step into the call God has for your better than average self and fulfill all that He has for you.

Xoxo,
Gena