They say that reflecting on one’s life is good, right? I know “they” say a lot of stuff, but maybe this is actually true. So here are some reflections as our blog has it’s 4th birthday.
The past four years for me has been like opening my eyes to a dream I didn’t know I could have. Sure, I liked writing. Sometimes I thought I was even good at it. At the very least my past showed me that I was decent at teaching it. But when Michelle asked me to write on this new blog that she was dreaming up with another mom I didn’t know, I had my doubts. I was an unlikely blogger for many reasons: I had four boys under five so time was an issue, I hadn’t written much on my own since college, and I had (ok, still have) an aversion to social media. But God could see past these disqualifiers.
So I started writing, and I emerged from somewhere I’d been–maybe a postpartum fog that’s hard to remember now. I’ve processed so much of life here on Texting the Truth with my fellow writers and with you our readers, and the processing has been so helpful to me. There is something valuable and beautiful about opening up to another mom about my difficulties in parenting or in living, for that matter. As we write, we ask God to help us see our struggles with His eyes. We search the Bible together. We search for other resources that will help us. And then we put it all out there for readers, hoping that maybe by giving the details of our struggle, others will feel they are not alone, and in fact, that they are normal.
A lot has changed in our world in the last four years. Goodness, a lot has changed in the last 4 months. By and large our blog hasn’t said much in the year 2020. Processing these changes– the fear and uncertainty, the grief over what was normal back in March, cultural outcry, the magnificent way our families bonded in quarantine, and so much more–has been mentioned on the blog, but I’ll speak for myself and say that I haven’t always known what to write. I haven’t always known what to think. My silence became easier to maintain. Writing disappeared from my routine almost altogether. But as I reflect, I realize I’m in another fog that I need to emerge from, and maybe it’s writing and the honesty of other moms that I need most to help me out of here.
Because a lot is the same. I’m still a mom. I still have kids to guide and shepherd. I still have a husband I want to support and love well. I still have my friends to share with. I still have plenty of issues to process. I still need grace. And after all, that’s what we are about here at Texting the Truth. Even in 2020, we are in the end still Real Moms who want to give and receive Real Grace from God and from each other. It’s still what we need so desperately and maybe more than ever.
So I’m committing to try again. To write some more. To keep on being vulnerable in this new world. To keep on seeking God with other moms. To listen to the Voice full of love and wisdom toward us. To share my real, normal, everyday struggles with moms. To pray that He will guide us to raise our kids well. To openly reflect on life even when we don’t always know what to say.
Happy 4th Birthday Texting the Truth!
Laura
I am also a mom with four boys. They are 12,10,8,6. Life is hard. Thank you for writing.