I am not Supermom (aka Pioneer Woman)

I am sure of at least three things in life:

1) I am not Supermom even in the loosest of interpretations. 

2) I would have died on the trail if I had been a pioneer woman. 

3) It is a requirement for first year moms to learn selflessness.

Now don't get me wrong, I had great intentions of being Supermom. I bought the cape and practiced catchy slogans in the mirror like, "To insanity and beyond!" However, I am beginning to think that motherhood is more about survival than it is about super heroes...

My husband and I have this running joke about what life was like for pioneers. I have always been a tomboy, and I constantly like to tell him things that "I bet a pioneer would be able to do this or that". I like to think that I could have been a Laura Ingalls Wilder and run bare foot and encountered Indians and survived prairie fires and gathered wild black berries and lived to tell about such wonderfully, wild adventures. However, I have begun to doubt that I would have even survived the trip to the frontier. I mean, seriously, look at these women:

They are hard core! And their kids are still alive!

I cannot imagine living life on the trail with 8 kids, walking or driving a wagon all day, cooking, cleaning, and mending all evening, tending to the kids and livestock...and somehow still having more babies! Which means somewhere in there, they miraculously found time for their husbands, too! The more I think about it, the more I realize what a wimp I am. It is a little disheartening since as a child, I really thought that I could have won the Oregon Trail...although I never saw this screen without cheating...

Thinking about those women brings me to my revelation of the day: being a mom automatically teaches you selflessness - whether you like it or not. Life is no longer your own. Your clothes are not your own. Your time is not your own. Your bed is not your own. Your sleep is not your own. Your dinnertime is not your own. Your privacy is not your own. Perhaps most importantly though, your heart is not your own.

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."  Matthew 6:19-21 KJV

Sometimes I have to stop and ask myself, "Where is my treasure?" We often misread or misquote that last verse as, "Where your heart is, there your treasure will be also." But it is the other way around. Whatever we value most, our heart will automatically take up residence. Do I value having "Me Time" or sleeping more than I value my husband, daughter, friends, and family? Am I more invested in getting what I want than meeting the needs of others? Now, don't freak out on me - "Me Time" and sleep and taking care of yourself (especially as a mom) are also VERY important! But I all too often get caught up in doing unto others because of what I expect back or think I deserve in return.

The very definition of being a servant is a person who performs duties for others. It doesn't mention anything about payment or return service anywhere in there, does it? In a continued thought to my last post I am challenged to not just daily find the joy in being a mommy, but also to do it without expecting anything in return. The blessing in lost, when you only do for others with yourself in mind.

I am not Supermom or a pioneer woman, but I am learning that I don't have to be. The most important thing that I have to do is remember that my heart is no longer my own. It belongs to the Creator of the universe and to two pairs of sparkling blue eyes that I have the privilege of looking into every day of my life. I will love them and serve them, because it is the highest calling that the Lord has given to me -- and I will strive to do it with joy!