As women we give and give and give. Time with our husband. Time with our children. Forty or more hours a week at work. Volunteering at church. We spend our lives meeting the needs of others. Calling a sick friend. Making sure our aging parents haven't fallen or misplaced their medications. No wonder we crave, desire, and lust after having our own needs met! Most of the time we're so exhausted and depleted that we'll look for anything to meet our needs, fulfill our desires, give us a break, help us out, or give us an edge in conquering the mountain of tasks before us. Enter the bandwagon.
The problem with bandwagons and fads and tricks is that they don't work. They never do. But because we're so desperate for help, for rescue, for solace, we'll allow ourselves to believe that maybe the next time, we'll find the right one. And so we'll jump off one bandwagon right onto the next one, riding a caravan of wagons that run in circles, leading us nowhere.
Watch this video message from Vicki Courtney, author of Ever After: Life Lessons Learned in My Castle of Chaos, as she discusses the importance of trusting God in your quest to be the mom God has called you to be.
In 2 Timothy 3:7, Paul warned about the consequences of bandwagon-hopping: "always learning" but never really finding "truth." Translation: you skip from fad to fad and in the end, you come up empty because you never acknowledge the truth. What truth? The truth that parenting isn't about gadgets or fads or the latest parenting book or being the best cake-pop-making mom in the class. There are no shortcuts. There are no five magic principles to perfect children. There is no way to organize yourself into being a better mom.
The truth is that parenting is impossible unless you fall flat on your face and surrender it all to the Father. Only in His wisdom, His strength, His energy, and His guidance can you attempt what He has called you to be as a mom. Notice that I didn't say you'd be the perfect mom or raise the best kids. Not gonna happen because both you and your children are sinners. You may know Jesus, but you are still a work in progress, and so are your children.
Take a look around. If you find you're on a bandwagon of fad parenting, mommy-hood, marriage, or all of the above, just hop off. Then hop into God's Word and stay there. That's the best place to be.
This article is excerpted from Ever After by Vicki Courtney.