I’m Not Prepared! Get Prepared.

Welcome to my series on Preparation for Motherhood

 

When I had my first child, I was not prepared.  Like, no mental, emotional, physical, preparation – none in any way.

 

I know moms read my blog and some think I’ve always had it together.  Actually, it’s been a whirlwind of learning lessons and for me the lessons go deep.  The lessons are primarily because I was not prepared for what I go through day in and day out.  Let me explain.

 

Have you ever gone through a period where it just seems like the Lord is silent?

 

I mean quiet-quiet.

 

I mean…..

 

Yes, that quiet.
Well if you can imagine that, you certainly can imagine the direct, 180 degree, opposite.
That’s been my life pretty much since summer and it just all culminated later in the Fall and I realized I needed to stop and put things in place.  I have had a period, in the past, of feeling God’s silence.
Eventually, I realized that I needed to just keep steady and keep seeking Him.  I know that was a test in a sense.  This also has been, greatly.  Fortunately, this time God was constantly sending me messages through friend support, facebook (of all places), sermons, podcasts, books, blogs and even random people on the street!
Strange huh?
But I praise God for all of His communication with me.  I needed the encouragement.

 

Well there are several strands (nothings clean-cut in real life, is it?).  What I will tell you is that I needed to get a hold on the chaos in my life; many things were due to NOT being prepared.

 

I know, everyone says that (in my authoritative voice):  ‘No one can truly be prepared’.

However, I really see there is a certain level of preparation that can happen and just didn’t in my own life.  I didn’t even know how to change a diaper, let alone how to cook for a family, what kind of cookware to have (and trust me we started with a pot and a pan, that’s it), there was just so much.
I think those who talk about no one being prepared are people who had the basics and forget that there are those who start without even the basics.
Get into your mind a picture of a near-homeless orphan, then you may be able to sympathize.  This is where I’m coming from when I talk about motherhood.  This is where I’m coming from when I talk, get prepared.

 

We may not feel prepared for what we are doing but our job is to do the preparation for pretty much everything that makes life.  We prepare our child for life by making sure their life is prepared for!
Preparation for meals, summer activities, putting in place the building blocks for family communication, our kid’s friendships, home purchases, money goals – so much we do as moms to prep for the hourly, daily, life future of those in our care.  Yes, our husbands too depend on our own preparation!

 

Our biggest and best task:

 

Preparation of our children for the lives they will live. 

 

BIG.

 

We can’t do it all and certainly not perfectly but it should be humbly.  We should attempt to prep those littles for the challenges they may encounter, even more so, trying to enable them to bypass those challenges.
Be careful though, there will be challenges.  Just not always the same that we think they will face or the same as the ones we do face.  If you are like me and you were not prepared, the hope is that they will not (will not) face the challenge of trying to learn how to manage life and parenthood while doing life and parenthood.

Who said on-the-job training was a good idea?

 

Don’t feel hopeless.

This is a big obstacle but I believe strongly that with the Lord’s guidance and door-opening power, getting in front of the boulder and even running faster than it is possible.  We can take up with wings like eagles … we can run and not be weary.

Read Isaiah 40:31 and pray.  If this is you too, let’s pray together for God’s direction and help.  Where do we start?  I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed because it’s so easy to when you realize you gotta get a hold, but where?  How?  The daily is crushing you but, girl, YOU can crush IT!

Read the next post Preparation Comes in Bits
Organize Your Life