SHEILA BOUCHARD

aka “You’re NOT That Momma” (& it’s OK!)

Does anyone else pray or talk to God in the shower? LOL. Maybe you talk to yourself there? God must be amused – the bathroom seems to be my place to talk to Him; I always call it the “Throne Room” as it appears to be the place where I hear Him the best. Maybe it’s because I can go in there, shut the door, and have a few minutes of no interruptions. Hmm…

In any case, yesterday morning, I was thinking of how the day before was some “National Daughter’s Day” and feeling bad that I didn’t post pictures of my beautiful daughters. The reality is I love all five of our children immensely! I have a few pictures of their younger years, and my heart swells with love for them. I am so proud of each of them – each is so unique and so gifted in their own way. My momma’s arms long to sit and snuggle them like when they were young and remind them how important and valuable they are. I miss them sometimes and always pray for the best for them, and the people they have chosen to share their lives with. I am so thankful for each of our grandchildren and how they fill and stretch my heart in ways I never knew possible.

Yet – here I am in the shower – beating myself up over everything I’m not. I’m an awful card-giver. I buy cards fully intending to send them and get them to my loved ones on time but then delay and they get lost in the shuffle, ugh… I struggle with gift-giving and knowing the perfect gift to get. Both Dan & I come from big families, and it wasn’t always a thing. As I get older, my perfect gift to get would be sitting and having a cup of coffee with said loved one and just being in their presence, but is that enough for them?

Then I think of social media and I get beat up – I don’t have the ‘perfect gift’, give the ‘perfect party,’ post the ‘perfect pictures’, etc., etc. (you fill in the blank for you…_________________)

And here in the shower, I started to drown in all that I “wasn’t” and my Poppa God piped in loud and clear, “STOP IT! YOU’RE NOT THAT MOMMA!” – actually, it was kind and gentle, but to my listening ears, it sounded loud. It was kind of like a cold slap in the face or wake-up call, and I was like, “Huh? What meanest this?”

And then I heard so gently and filled with such love, “Don’t beat yourself up for who you’re not. Celebrate who you are!”

You see, everywhere I turn lately, I have been hearing about the fact that we are all parts of the Body (see below, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27). I heard it at Joni & Friends camp this summer – our special kiddos have a place in life, in the body. Not all are hands or feet, or the mouth, or an ear – yet we need all the parts to be functional. It was recently preached in church two Sundays ago, reminding us we all have a place. We may all look different, see different, feel different, but we all need what each other has to offer and we can celebrate our differences, not beat each other up over them or judge others.

As the dirt rinsed off my body that day, so did my comparison (at least temporarily until my next reminder, lol). Social media… life in general… can sometimes make us feel “less than” but I am thankful for a heavenly Father who reminds us that we are enough! Our children – all of them – are enough… and AMAZING!! Made in His Image… we all have a part and a seat at the table…which may look totally different than someone else…but still totally valuable!!

Today I choose to celebrate YOU – for all your uniqueness and… I choose to celebrate Me… just as Poppa God does. “You are not that Momma”… and that is OK…Be the Best YOU!
Love ya! YOU ARE ENOUGH!! ❤

1 Corinthians 12:12-27 (The Living Bible) – ¹² Our bodies have many parts, but the many parts make up only one body when they are all put together. So it is with the “body” of Christ. ¹³ Each of us is a part of the one body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But the Holy Spirit has fitted us all together into one body. We have been baptized into Christ’s body by the one Spirit, and have all been given that same Holy Spirit. ¹⁴ Yes, the body has many parts, not just one part. ¹⁵ If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And what would you think if you heard an ear say, “I am not part of the body because I am only an ear and not an eye”? Would that make it any less a part of the body? ¹⁷ Suppose the whole body were an eye—then how would you hear? Or if your whole body were just one big ear, how could you smell anything? ¹⁸ But that isn’t the way God has made us. He has made many parts for our bodies and has put each part just where he wants it. ¹⁹ What a strange thing a body would be if it had only one part! ²⁰ So he has made many parts, but still there is only one body. ²¹ The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” ²² And some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary. ²³ Yes, we are especially glad to have some parts that seem rather odd! And we carefully protect from the eyes of others those parts that should not be seen, ²⁴ while of course the parts that may be seen do not require this special care. So God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that might otherwise seem less important. ²⁵ This makes for happiness among the parts, so that the parts have the same care for each other that they do for themselves. ²⁶ If one part suffers, all parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. ²⁷ Now here is what I am trying to say: All of you together are the one body of Christ, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it.