Today we are featuring Lisa Hardwick. Welcome, Lisa. We’re glad to chat with you today! Look at that sweet baby! Can you tell us a little about this picture?

I see details in this photo that others may not. Lorelai is wearing clothes someone else bought her because we could not. I am wearing Salvation Army clothes because that is what I can afford right now. All of her toys in the background were gifts to us. We are in our 800-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment. Her bed, another gift, is in the background, next to the kitchen table. This photo reminds me that the Lord has blessed us with simplicity. He has protected us from excess and has instead formed a community of support around us to meet our needs “according to his riches and glory through Christ Jesus.” He has stripped us of worldly desires and instead gifted us with the hope of His Son. CAN I GET A HALLELUJAH?

Hallelujah! That’s awesome that you can see all of the blessings around you. Speaking of blessings, can you tell us a little bit about Lorelai?

Lorelai is seven months old. She is a silly goose! However, she doesn’t speak English very well yet which makes communication a challenge. The Lord has given me such a wonderful story of healing from Postpartum Depression. People often say, “Oh, hasn’t seven months just flown by?” I say, ” NO! This has been the longest and hardest seven months of my life. But God is faithful.”  We serve a miracle worker!

We sure do! Time with an infant can really seem like it will last forever not to mention when you’re dealing with depression. I’m so glad you’re feeling better!

Do you wear any other hats in addition to your [big, gigantic, hugely significant] mom hat?

I just started a “project” (I don’t particularly like the term “blog”) called Survive Every Moment, to share my journey through Post Partum Depression. Although I didn’t initially have ANY desire to write out my story, many godly women whom I trust and respect peer-pressured me into getting it out there. Ha! Peer pressure to share the gospel can be a good thing!

I completely agree! Sharing our struggles redeems our suffering and can help so many. I have read several posts and I love how you are painfully honest and hilarious at the same time. Do you have a favorite book, blog or podcast?

The Great Gatsby is my favorite book. I’ve read it probably six time but have never seen the movie but I don’t want to.  It’s like Ecclesiastes from the 1920s: having it all, yet having nothing. Love is everything. Romance and death and revenge: all of the ingredients of a good story. It’s also very funny if you read it carefully.

I saw the movie and enjoyed the story as well. Do you have a favorite mom product?

The Bible. Also, wine.

Haha. We do have those days that we both are good, don’t we? What is the last thing you made for dinner or your favorite simple meal to throw together?

I called it Combo Mombo #297. Last night we had brown rice with lentils and an extra tablespoon of love.

That sounds healthy! Would you share a recent experience that has challenged your mothering?

I kid you not, yesterday it was the STROLLER. There are a myriad of baby products, and each one of them seems to have some sort of strap or buckle that just doesn’t want to STRAP or BUCKLE! Of course we were in a hurry (LATE!) in a busy parking lot and I just couldn’t get the straps to fit or the buckle to buckle. Lorelai is crying, I am almost crying, and drivers are slowing down to peer at my misfortune. After a frantic 90 seconds of sweat and finger pain from a stubborn buckle, I yelled, “DEAR JESUS, FIX THIS BUCKLE!” It wasn’t fixed miraculously and I am still considering using duct tape from now on, but at least we were able to leave the parking lot.

I think we can all relate to that! What is a victory (small or large) that you could share to encourage others in a similar situation?

Throw out the details, y’all! An irritating stroller/poorly-manufactured-buckle situation can turn any mommy into a raging, hangry monster. I have learned to just not care about this little stuff. I have to make a decision not to sweat the details. Granted, it’s a lesson I will still need to work on every day, but the vast majority of things we worry about (especially in this internet age) really don’t matter. Stop reading those “mom forums” online where fear breeds fear. I am healthy; my child is healthy; God is good. Throw the stroller in the lake; it really doesn’t matter. ?

That’s so true. It’s too easy to get caught up in the minutiae. What is the funniest that has happened with Lorelai recently?

Lorelai loves to watch my dog, Tulip, play fetch with Mr. Owl. (Mr. Owl is Tulip’s favorite toy.) Lorelai just laughs and laughs and I join in because that is the good stuff in life — giggling together and soaking in the good moments while they last. ☺️

Those are sweet moments! Do you have any general words of encouragement for other moms in the trenches like you?

Oh Lord, do I ever: You are a good mom. Are your children alive? That is an incredible feat of strength. They are also fed and clothed??? YOU ROCK, MOM!!!!!!!! Now, go throw those kids in the backyard, lock the door, and give yourself a little dance and a pat on the back. You are a champion!! Also, don’t forget the kids in the backyard. ?

Haha, that’s awesome. Do you have anything else you would like to add?

I always have something else to add, ha! I have often clung to the scripture in Psalm 127 that “children are a gift from the Lord, they are a reward from him”. I don’t think that children are a gift in the traditional sense. Instead, as God chooses to love and refine his beloved children, he sends us little humans so we can learn more about his character. It’s not a gift that keeps on giving; it’s a gift that keeps on taking. In the years of sacrifice that are to come, I imagine I will have a much greater admiration and understanding of our good and perfect Father through it all. That, my friends, is the gift!