The above title came courtesy of a good friend who’s four-year-old daughter had just swallowed a penny. It was shared in a group text of four moms, all with varying ages and number of young children. I am so very lucky to call these ladies friends, but most of all, I’m lucky to walk through motherhood with them, and know for a fact, I couldn’t do it without them.
And truer words could not have been spoken by my dear friend. Our lives, particularly as moms, often consist of being scared and sifting our way through things we’d rather not deal with—sifting through sorrows, disappointments, grief and upheaval. Loved ones are lost, promotions are denied, children grow older and move through the years as if their sole goal is to remind us they’re not as little as they used to be (that is, until they swallow a penny). Life isn’t easy, but then again, after sin entered the world, it was never going to be. It is easy to be anxious, to be concerned, to worry over those things we cannot control no matter how much we think we should be able to.
But we are not called to lives that are easy. We are called to lives of holiness.
We have been called to motherhood—be it physical or spiritual—and that means that we will find our road to heaven in the everyday moments of caring for others. These every day moments—caring for the child who has run a temperature, caring for the widower down the road that could use some help in the garden, praying for our priests and seminarians, unloading the dishwasher, caring for our fellow sisters as they muddle through motherhood and what to do after their child swallows a penny—bring us one step closer to heaven. We are on our way, even if it’s while we comb through things we’d rather not deal with.
In our anxious moments of motherhood, it’s important to remember we’re not alone. Before all other things, we have the Lord with us and prayer can be the first line of defense against a worrisome heart. The Great Comforter is waiting to wrap us all in His wings, and our very own mother Mary is waiting to guide us and console us as her own. And thank goodness for group texts to remind us that, not only does it take a village to raise a child, it takes a village to support a mom.
