Do you ever look at another mother and compare yourself to her? Why is she always so relaxed? Or perhaps, how does she manage to be so organised, while I can’t seem to get my kids out of their pyjamas in the morning?
It is important that we do not compare ourselves to one another. We are each a unique and unrepeatable expression of God (Humanae Vitae). God has blessed us with a specific set of gifts for a reason. While one mum has a relaxed, easy going nature, another mum may constantly be on the go, efficiently moving from one thing to another. It is important that this world is filled with all different types of people and personalities!
We need to be very grateful for having received each of our talents, remembering that ALL of our talents are on loan from God. If we have been blessed with the gift of order, it is from God. If we have been blessed with abundant patience with our children, that too is from God!
So, instead of thinking how great a cook we are, or admiring our own friendly and bubbly personality which we seem to have, let us stop for a moment and thank God for these blessings!
Learn From One Another:
If you see a particular quality or attractive trait in another mum, ask her what her secret is! We should always be aiming at improving ourselves, to be a better wife, a better mother and a better person in general for society.
We have been blessed with our particular area of strengths to help other mums out there. We may have a friendly nature where another mum at the park feels at ease to approach us. Or we may have a quieter nature and get along well with a more reserved mum.
A mother who is great at home organization may need to assist a friend by giving her some homemaking tips and strategies. This mother in turn however, may need to learn how to make time for people, instead of constantly rushing around caught up in her own life.
Practice The Skill Or Habit You Would Like To Acquire:
Aristotle said “we are what we repeatedly do.” Isn’t this so true! It can be so easy to form a habit, especially a bad habit, when we fall into the same repeated pattern and do not try to change our behaviour.
Studies have shown that it takes around 21 days to form a new habit. In order for us to acquire a good habit, we will need patience and practice. Try to identify the area in life which seems to be dragging you down a little. How could you work on this area to try and fix it up?
They will usually only be little things we want to work on. However, practising the virtue of temperance over and over again in little things often enables us to persevere in bigger things.
Ideas include:
- Waking up on time each morning
- Avoid snacking too much during the day
- Having a daily plan or schedule to be more productive
- Being organised with children to avoid rushing before leaving the house
- Cleaning those corners of the house you dread getting to
- Cooking and presenting family meals with a little more refinement (focus on trying out at least one new recipe a week to avoid repeating the same meals over and over.)
Perhaps we could even be accountable to our husbands at the end of each day in our area of struggle, letting him know how we went.
It was Saint Francis de Sales who said “do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them.”
If we continue to fight against our little defects, our strengths and attractive qualities will shine through. Let us be very grateful and very humble for our God given talents. If we use them well and do not waste them, we could help others greatly. We can ask for God’s help in putting our talents to full use where needed.
When we do our best, God will do the rest!
Originally posted 2015-05-07 12:00:44.
Well said/written Jill! 🙂 I like steering away from looking at what other mums are doing if it affects you negatively (ie with jealous or saddness) & the recognition that our talents are not us but rather gifts from God. Thanks