I think the secret to surviving motherhood with grace and dignity may be living with hope. You may think the mom who is still in her pajamas at two in the afternoon is a woman who has lost all hope. But I feel she is a woman with great hope! Hope that maybe at some point today she will be able to get back in bed for a couple more minutes of rest. And if that moment comes, she will be ready. Great hope, indeed!
While that may be a small example, SO much of what a mom does is motivated not by what she’s seeing in her day-to-day life, but in the hope that God is using her efforts to make a difference even many years from now. It is difficult to be consistent day after day to the work God has called us to- making the oatmeal, changing the diapers, doing the laundry, reading the storybooks and kissing the boo-boos- but we do it because our hope is that the love and care we’re expressing in these simple acts will matter long after our kids are grown and gone. We hope they saw the love and tenderness of Jesus in our acts of service for them. We hope that love will live on in them and motivate them to care for and serve others. The hope that our efforts will result in life-long character development and spiritual growth is what keeps us faithful to our calling- even if we’re doing it while still in our pajamas.