To the Mom Who’s Not Enough

by Amanda Christopher

Mom, this is a reminder that your mothering is not defined by the quality of the Easter baskets you presented to your children this past Sunday, or by the perfectly coordinated outfits that you pulled together, or the adorable pictures you posted to Instagram. And if you didn’t get any of that done this year, or maybe any year, your motherhood is not defined by that either.

I saw several comments by women describing themselves as low quality mothers, or subpar mothers, or something like that, in relation to the fact that they were scrambling around at the last minute trying to pull together an Easter basket for their kids. We need to stop with this kind of talk.

We need to stop holding ourselves as mothers to some weird standards created by our society and social media culture. And we don’t need to stop because we are perfect mothers, or because we are “enough.” We need to stop because Jesus is a perfect savior, and he is enough.

When it comes to standards, there is only one that matters, and it is one that we could never reach. It is a standard of perfect holiness, a standard from a perfectly holy God. The good news of the gospel, though, is that Jesus met that standard for us. Through his life, death, and resurrection, he accomplished all that was needed to make us beautiful, approved, and more than enough in God’s eyes, because we have been given the perfect righteousness of Jesus. I didn’t do anything to earn it, and I can’t do anything to mess it up.

So when scrolling through social media leads me to feel overwhelmed and like a failure, when I lose my temper, when I fail to shepherd my children gently and with kindness, or when I find myself putting my needs above theirs, I don’t have to wallow in shame. I also don’t have to dig in and try harder to be “enough.” I have to remember the gospel. 

I have to remember that there is no more work for me to do to be loved and approved. I can also remember that I have the Holy Spirit, God in me, equipping me and empowering me to do all that God has called me to do. I am never alone. My kids (and yours!) don’t need a perfect mom, or perfect Easter baskets. They need a mom who is in love with Jesus and fully dependent on his grace.

Jesus is with you. He is with you when you’re doing great and he is with you when you feel like you can’t do anything right. You are not enough and never will be. But Jesus is and always will be.