Made to Mother

Stories by Moms About Motherhood from Across the Mother Spectrum

  • About M2M
  • About Wynter
  • Buy the Book!
  • Order M2M Swag

Grace for the Imperfect Mama – Guest Post by Author and Blogger, Jenni Mullinix

May 13, 2014

As a single woman and a newlywed, I had grand ideas of what motherhood would look like. My children were never going to watch television during the day. I was going to be cool, calm and collected in the midst of trying times. The house would stay clean. I would serve nutritious meals every night. And my children would never throw fits, especially in public. I was a perfect parent before becoming a mother. imperfect mama Fast forward a few years and you will find me as the mother of an infant and toddler sometimes wondering how I’m going to make it through this crazy, beautiful thing called motherhood. There are dark days caused by a lack of sleep, toddler tantrums and other stresses that bring me to the end of myself. During these difficult moments the question that all mothers wonder lurks in the back of my mind… Am I enough? I’ve been pondering this question quite a bit lately. What I’ve decided is that the answer is NO. Despite what you’ve heard or read, it’s the truth–the gospel truth. This answer may seem wildly discouraging at first, but I found found it to be quite freeing. While I strongly believe the Lord has called us be the mother of the children He has gifted each one of us with, I am also quite certain that we cannot do this mothering thing on our own. We are not enough. We need Jesus–desperately.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” -John 15:5

It is only through the grace of God and the working of the Holy Spirit that we can do anything right. The Lord did not call us to be perfect mothers–He called us to be moms covered by His grace, relying on His Spirit to guide us through the mundane (and not so mundane) moments of motherhood. grace-covered mama Did you get that, dear friend? God has called you to be a grace-covered mama, not a perfect one. It is only when we choose to accept the gift of grace and allow the gospel to permeate every area of our life that we will thrive in our role as a mother. What freedom and joy there is in realizing this and taking it to heart! May we seek to bring glory to God by living out the gospel as we embrace the wonderful gift of grace that the blood of Jesus Christ bought for us. In what area of your motherhood do you need God’s grace today?

headshot 150About the Author: Jenni Mullinix is happily married to her husband and enjoys being a stay-at-home mama. She is fascinated with all things domestic which inspired her to write her first eBook, Clean Enough: Simple Solutions for the Overwhelmed Homemaker. In her free time, she enjoys deep conversations, drinking lattes, and diving into a good book. As a writer, Jenni is passionate about encouraging and equipping women to live called for the glory of God in every season of life. She would love to connect with you! Blog | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter.

 

 

M2m-logo-no-website

Share this:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

11 Comments Filed Under: Guest Post Tagged With: children, Christian, church, Family, friend, God, grace, guest blogger, Home, homemaker, homemaking, jenni mullinix, love, mom, mother, motherhood, mothering, Parent, sahm, stay at home mom, story, woman

Comments

  1. Mom 2 54321 says

    May 13, 2014 at 10:52 am

    Great post and I too was this perfect mama in my head before I was a Mother, funny. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  2. Hazel Irene Moon says

    May 13, 2014 at 12:53 pm

    I did allow my children to watch certain cartoons as it was an excellent Baby Sitter for a short time. In other ways I was very strict, and harsh at times. I could have benefited from more than “Parent’s Magazine,” which actually was helpful. Imperfect yes but I love my children and they love me in return. All out of the nest now, but they all returned at certain times of stress in their lives – – then out again to face the world. Thank you for sharing your wonderful post with us here at “Tell Me a Story.” At: http://letmetelluastory.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  3. kelliwoodford says

    May 13, 2014 at 1:04 pm

    A good friend of mine once said to me, “Be the parent you can be.” I have returned to her words often when NOT ENOUGH gets a choke-hold on my mama-heart. I can trust that God made me/is making me to be just the parent he wants for these children. That none of them are mine by accident.

    (And then I sigh with great relief.)

    Thanks for linking up at Unforced Rhythms this week.

    Reply
  4. Barbie says

    May 13, 2014 at 11:38 pm

    Thank you for sharing over at The Weekend Brew. I am so thankful for the grace He pours out on this imperfect mama. Blessings!

    Reply
  5. calledhomejfisk says

    May 15, 2014 at 10:01 am

    Feeling very encouraged after reading 🙂 Thankyou

    Reply
  6. Sarah @ The Gospel at Home says

    May 16, 2014 at 12:45 pm

    Love this, Jenni! God has been teaching me this heavily in my first year of being a mother and being pregnant again. You’re right – it can seem depressing at first that we can’t be perfect, but actually, it is so freeing…I am allowed to make mistakes, have a really bad day, have dusty shelves and a disorganised linen cupboard. It’s not my works that please the Lord, but my heart that calls out to Him for succour and strength and the will to follow His ways.

    Reply
  7. Joan says

    May 19, 2014 at 4:37 pm

    This is great, Jenni! My kids are grown, but I still realize that the only way to parent is with God leading the way. I know I couldn’t have dealt with many things our family encountered with out God’s presence in our lives. His grace and love keep me going!

    Thanks for this encouraging post!

    Blessings, Joan

    Reply
  8. Lisa Ritchey says

    May 30, 2014 at 5:26 am

    Reblogged this on Bare Bones Gospel.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. What Less-Than-Perfect Moms Need Most - Jenni Mullinix says:
    May 14, 2014 at 7:25 am

    […] {Click here to continue reading over at Made to Mother} […]

    Reply
  2. Grace for the Imperfect Mama2 – by Author and Blogger, Jenni Mullinix | Bare Bones Gospel says:
    May 30, 2014 at 8:13 am

    […] Continue reading here […]

    Reply
  3. Grace for the Imperfect Mama – by Author and Blogger, Jenni Mullinix | Just My Opines says:
    May 30, 2014 at 9:16 am

    […] Continue reading here […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Hi! I'm Wynter. Wife to Jonathan and mama to Chloe, Adaya and Liam. I am a writer, artist, MarCom professional, freelance editor, and an avid gardener, TV lover and chocolate-covered cherries addict. Come back here each week for new, powerful stories of motherhood from real moms across the mother spectrum. Read More…

Subscribe to M2M

Never miss a M2M story ever again! Sign up to receive M2M posts directly to your inbox.

Search M2M Stories

Categories

  • A Dad's Story
  • Abortion
  • Adoptee
  • Adoption
  • Adoption Month
  • Birth Mother
  • Blogging
  • Book Review
  • Breastfeeding
  • Child Loss
  • Childcare/Nanny
  • Childless by Choice
  • Christian Living
  • Christmas
  • College
  • Conference
  • Diagnosis
  • Divorce
  • eBook Bundle
  • Father Tributes
  • Foster Mom
  • Friendship
  • Giveaway
  • Grandmother
  • Guest Post
  • Homemaking
  • Infertility
  • International Mothering
  • Jail
  • Life Coach
  • Link Up
  • Made to Mother Book
  • Mentor
  • Miscarriage
  • Motherhood
  • Motherhood Vignettes
  • Movie Review
  • Moving w Kids Successfully
  • NonChristian
  • NonProfit Spotlight
  • Parenting
  • Pet Mom
  • Pregnancy
  • Product Review
  • Recipe
  • Season of Giving: Countdown to Christmas
  • Single Mom
  • Special Needs
  • Sponsored Post
  • Stay at Home Mom
  • Stepmother
  • Teacher
  • Teen Mom
  • Teen Pregnancy
  • teenagers
  • Trauma
  • Uncategorized
  • womanhood
  • Working Mom
  • Wynter

Recent Posts

  • Reflecting on a New Year
  • NEW M2M Swag Now available!
  • Today is the Day of Salvation: Don’t Put it Off Any Longer!
  • The COVID Family’s Guide to Deep Cleaning a Kitchen
  • We LEARN to Mother – Vaishnavi’s Story
Got a Story to Share? Contact me at wynter@madetomother.com

Top Posts & Pages

  • God is in Control of Your Family Size; You Just Have to Obey - An Unnamed Mother’s Story
  • The Dangers of Teenage Travel #MakeSafeTravelHappen – The Tyler Madoff Story
  • Hiding Behind Masks – An Unnamed Mother’s Story
  • National Adoption Month Series: Lauren's Adoptee Story
  • Moving with Three Kids…Successfully, Part Three: A Journey with Negotiations, Paperwork and Boxes
  • National Adoption Month Series – An Anonymous Birth Mother Story
  • Can You Drink Slim Fast While Nursing? - Guest Post by Kate from Fitness Goals

Copyright © 2023 Made to Mother · All Rights Reserved
Theme designed by Restored 316 · Hosting provided by SiteGround

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.