Dear Cruz,

Who me???

So, I have to admit being a stay-at-home mom is really hard work. I'm now calling it work because I find it more fitting than calling it a job. At a job, you get rated on your performance, you get quarterly reviews, there are set standards and processes in place that you must follow, and the obvious one... you get paid. At a job, you may or may not be excited and passionate about what you're doing but there's no choice because you have to pay the bills. At a job, you're constantly worried about how others perceive you. Are you smart enough? Do you work hard enough? Are you really going to make the cut? There's an immense amount of pressure and most of the time other people can dictate how you feel, act, and think about yourself on a day to day basis.

Lately, I have been attributing most of these things to being a stay-at-home mom. Am I doing enough during the day? Do I have enough activities planned during the week? Is the house spotless? Are the meals I cook good enough? What are other people going to think of me if these things don't line up with their expectations? Am I lazy if I don't have things on my schedule every hour of every day? Etc, etc. It gets pretty overwhelming when you put other people's imaginary expectations on your performance as a mom and wife. It's almost unmanageable and there's so much of me that's not present with you when I'm thinking about all the things I might not be doing well enough. It's not fair to you or to me to be continually looking to other people for acceptance and validation.

Why is it that we look for validation from anyone other than God? I think it's hard not to get caught up in a competitive mindset, constantly comparing ourselves to others, but it's crucial that we start looking up and hearing what God has to say about us. How much better can we do our work, our jobs, our hobbies, our passions... how much better can we live our lives in general if we're living from the place that God has intended us to live... living from the place of our affirmed identity in Christ?? I find it extremely important to remind myself each day of who I am in Christ. I also find it extremely important to start asking questions like, who does God say I am? Rather than asking questions like, am I good enough? I know I'm good enough to God. He has justified me and redeemed me in Christ and I am loved beyond comprehension. We all are.

Cruz, I pray that you can remind yourself each day to live from your affirmed identity in Christ, looking UP for validation and no where else. I pray that you will know with all of your being that there's nothing you can do to earn God's acceptance, his love, or his grace because you were already redeemed and justified when Jesus died on the cross for you. He thinks you're good enough. He thinks you're smart enough. He knows you're going to make the cut. How amazing it is to know that our God thinks more highly of us than we {or anyone else} could ever think of ourselves...

-I am a child of God (John 1:12)

-I am a branch of the True Vine (John 15:1)

-I am a friend of Jesus (John 15:15)

-I have been justified freely and redeemed in Christ (Romans 3:24)

-I have been crucified with Christ and am no longer a slave to sin (Romans 6:6)

-I will not be condemned by God because of what Christ has done for me (Romans 8:1)

-I have been set free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2)

-As a child of God, I am a fellow heir with Christ (Romans 8:17)

-I am accepted by Christ (Romans 15:7)

-In Christ Jesus, I have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor 1:30)

-The Holy Spirit dwells in me (1 Cor 6:19)

-I have boldness and confident access to God through faith in Christ (Eph 3:12)

-Because of God's mercy and love, I am made alive with Christ (Eph 2:4-5)

-I am a citizen of Heaven (Phil 3:20)

-The peace of God guards my heart and mind (Phil 4:7)

-God supplies all my needs (Phil 4:19)

-God loves me and has chosen me (1 Thess 1:4)

(affirmation source here)