Mom to Mom: Confessions of a "Mother Inferior"

By Elisa Morgan

A supportive guide for mothers from the author named by Christianity Today as one of the top fifty women influencing today’s church and culture.
 
Mom to Mom strongly encourages every mom who wrestles with the frustrations and fears of motherhood. Elisa Morgan reassures you that you don’t need all the answers about mothering as long as you know where to go with the questions. In brief, heart-to-heart chapters, she shares biblical principles and the lessons life has taught her to reveal a core truth: You can be the mother your children need because your children were chosen for you, and you were chosen for your children.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Mar 8, 2017
• ISBN: 9781625391728

Elisa Morgan

Elisa Morgan is President Emerita of MOPS International, Inc., based in Denver, Colorado. She is the author, editor, or coauthor of numerous books, including Twinkle, Naked Fruit; Mom, You Make a Difference! Mom’s Devotional Bible; What Every Mom Needs; What Every Child Needs; and Real Moms. Elisa has two children, and a grandchild, and lives with her husband, Evan, in Centennial , Colorado.

Book preview

Mom to Mom

Moving from Unspoken Questions to Quiet Confidence

Elisa Morgan

Copyright

Mom to Mom

Copyright © 1996 by Elisa Morgan

Cover art to the electronic edition copyright © 2012 by Bondfire Books, LLC.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Electronic edition published 2012 by Bondfire Books, LLC, Colorado.

Author is represented by Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard St., Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.

ISBN EPUB edition: 978-0-7953-2369-0

To see more from Elisa Morgan, visit FullFill.org.

To Paige

I know now that you gave all you could.

Thanks, Mother.

Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Introduction: Confessions of a Mother Inferior

1. How Do I Do This?

2. Am I What My Child Really Needs?

3. What Do I Need to Mother Well?

4. How Do I Make Good Choices?

5. How Do I Handle My Imperfections?

6. How Does God See Me When I Fail?

7. Do I Notice When I Do It Right?

8. How Do I Teach My Child to Live Life Well?

9. What If I Don’t Know the Answers?

10. When Is It Okay to Ask for Help?

11. How Do I Show God to My Child?

12. How Do I Love My Child Enough But Not Too Much?

13. How Can I Tell If I’m a Good Mom?

Afterword

Introduction

CONFESSIONS OF A MOTHER INFERIOR

Deep in the heart of a mother are whisperings that day after day curl themselves into question marks. But instead of raising her hand to ask her questions boldly, she hangs back, afraid of ridicule, of looking silly, of having such questions in the first place. These unspoken questions have a way of crippling mothers young and old. Because we don’t voice our doubts, because we keep our inadequacies buried, we are never freed of them.

Every mother asks questions in her heart. Burdened moms bring them to me in confidential confessions. I’ve asked many of my own in private ponderings.

This book asks those questions. It speaks the secret doubts that arise in the wee hours of the night and linger, hauntingly, through the morning. It gives words to worries. It asks out loud what we all wish we could ask: the questions deep in the heart of a mother.

And in response to them? Well, you won’t necessarily find answers. These are musings and ponderings, biblical principles and lessons learned, all from a mother who is still mothering. I write these stories, not as some kind of expert on mothering. Far from it. I may lead an organization devoted to nurturing mothers, but in my own minutes as a mom I often wrestle with my adequacy to guide my children. When I have shared these stories with moms of all ages in talks around the country, tears have sprung as if some river very near the surface has finally been tapped and allowed to flow.

This book is intentionally developed to encourage you—a few bites at a time. The chapters are short. In fact, they’re designed to be devoured in short ten- to fifteen-minute intervals. As a mom, I know it’s tough to get more than that amount of time alone to do anything. You might try reading just one question each week, and chewing on the lesson as you go about your duties. At the end of each chapter are Confidence Builders—a few questions for your own reflection. You can think them over alone or with a group of other moms who are also gaining the courage to mull over these matters.

Through this book, I pray that you’ll find the courage you need to express the questions hidden in the corners of your days, to expose them to the light, and to gain confidence from asking them.

Mom to Mom,     

Elisa     

Chapter

ONE

How Do I Do This?

With his father’s help, my son completed the construction of a pinewood derby car for Tiger Cubs. Late one evening, he came to me requesting that I paint a thunderbolt on the hood of the car. While he offered specifically calibrated instructions at my elbow, I brushed a yellow zigzag over the red base coat.

Why? I’m a mother.

Daily I shuttle back and forth between swim meets and basketball practice. I go to the store to get stencils for a science project display board and to the doctor’s to get an X-ray for a sprained ankle, which turns out to be broken. Consequently, I become an expert in the art of applying and reapplying an air cast, all the while convincing the patient of the sensational benefits of wearing such a device when one would rather not.