Mom, you are FAR more capable than you know. And you have been prepared specifically for the course at hand. I promise.

I'm writing my monthly article for y'all - late per typical (thank you Editors for putting up with me!) - and connecting some dots in other amazing opportunities to use my words. And in the midst of it all, I'm reminded of how powerful we really are. Moms.

Do you feel powerful?

Earlier this summer we had to make a radical change in our family dynamics. We decided to enrol in a program for our daughter's sensory processing disorder and OCD (anxiety times one million). 

It has meant some significant changes for our little home. I'll be homeschooling her this fall because of the intensity of this program. And also, I'll have lots of her therapeutic exercises to get done with her at home. Every. Single. Day.

And before we enrolled, this sounded lovely. I've since seen that it's not so easy to get your six year old to commit to 30 minutes of therapy a day exclusively with mom. But, hey. Change was needed; and here we are.

As I left my women's ministry meeting this morning, that word kept hitting me in my middle. Change.

We are capable of all things. I truly believe it. Moms could take over and run the world - all of it - tomorrow, if we choose to do so. 

Yet, a lot of us also crave seasons without change. Without wildness. We want the chaos to "peace out" so we can find our peace again.

So, I'm here today to remind you of how capable you are my dear friend. Even if it doesn't feel like it.

P.S. As I've been digging into my work with moms more significantly this summer (yes, I'm living in all the chaos right now... at least until tomorrow night, when I take a 7-day Sabbatical), I've found it is so, so common for women to doubt the INNATE, God-given, abilities we have. Every time I clock out from a shift, I'm looking another woman in the eye and saying "You're doing amazing" and "You've got this." And in return, I get the biggest, best teary-eyed hugs.

What I think I'm finding out, and perhaps I already knew it, is that even if we are capable... and we're doing it all... we need that affirmation.

The next time you're out and about and you see a mama rocking it (or even if she's not), will you do me a favor and encourage her? We are seriously so capable. But some days, it doesn't hurt to hear it.

Cheering you on, always, dear ones.

XOX J.

P.P.S. That picture at the top today is my brilliant little Bliss and I. She's telling me I have lipstick on my teeth. At five, she had already understood how important it is that we lift one another up. She didn't laugh at me. She didn't whisper secrets about me to a friend. She looked me in the eye and said, "Mom, you have lipstick right there..." and we then continued on our photo shoot. We can learn so, so much from these precious kids.