Motherhood: An Easter Reflection on Holiness

Happy Spring!!  Of course on the first day of spring, it snowed here in Pittsburgh, haha.  It really never fails.  I’m very much looking forward to warmer weather and outside play time.  I have zero mom friends {sad face} so I’ve spent most of the winter cooped up inside with my little men.  I’m certainly not complaining  but this mama is going stir crazy!!!

The beginning of spring also means the end of Lent and the celebration of Easter.  I’ve been taking this Lent to really reflect on my faith and build a better relationship with God.  If you think about it, it’s really the perfect time to do some soul-searching.  The last few weeks of winter lead into spring just as Lent leads to Easter.  It’s like the end of gray doom and gloom days and being greeted with sunshine and flowers and spring.  Take the time to purify your mind and bring yourself back to God, strengthening your relationship and faith.

If you haven’t heard of Blessed is She you should really check their website out.  Love getting their daily devotionals in my email every morning.  I also used Best Lent Ever devotionals, also sent to my email every morning.  I can’t say that I like one better than the other, but Blessed is She focuses more on motherhood and Best Lent Ever focuses on bringing you back to the church.  I actually recommend both as mothers!  Even being a devout Catholic doesn’t mean you can’t remember and reflect upon the very basic teachings of the Church.  I make it a point to give that first moment of my day to God everyday, and it’s definitely made a difference.

One thought from Best Lent Ever really resonated with me: we can all be holy.  I think sometimes being religious can be intimidating.  Just like in motherhood, our religion, how we practice, how devout we are, how much we live it out in our daily lives, it’s all being compared to someone else.  Well, “I send my children to Catholic school”, or “we pray the rosary every day”, or “my two year old can recite the Our Father”.  It’s like we are all competing to be the “best”.  But, what is the best when it comes to religion?

Of course I am not a religious leader, a great orator or even pretend to be all-knowing of the church’s teachings.  I don’t make it to church every Sunday.  I don’t remember the last time I prayed the rosary.  I am a sinner.  I’m not writing this in hopes of making myself seem to be any of the above.  I only hope to help other mamas out there who may be struggling, who may be wondering if they are doing a good job, who wonder if they can ever be as holy as their ____ (fill in the blank: mother, sister, sister-in-law, whoever).

Back to this devotional and holiness.  This particular devotional said we can all be holy.  All of us.  I read this and thought, “yeah, right!”.  Seeing other people being so holy, so devout, it can be both inspiring (I want to be like that!) and frustrating (I could never be like that!).  The very thought of living a completely holy life as God intends us to is daunting.  I don’t know about you but I was definitely thinking there is NO WAY I can be holy.

The devotional went on to say that holiness starts with one moment.  One moment when you may let Satan enter into your mind, instead you choose holiness.  That one moment when you were going to yell at your kids, you don’t.  That’s a moment of holiness.  That one moment when you were going to scroll through Facebook instead of playing trains/legos/dinosaurs/girl things I don’t understand because I have boys.  That’s a moment of holiness.  That one moment where you were going to be jealous of your sibling’s attention but instead you offer it up to God.  That’s a moment of holiness.

It’s in these single, easy, seemingly meaningless moments of holiness that we begin to experience a life of holiness.  I tried living out this practice for a few days and, you guys, I can’t even explain how different I feel.

So, let’s all try not to judge each other or compare each other.  Let’s start each day believing that we can, in fact, become holy.  We can live a holy life.  It just starts with that one holy moment.

Side note/Funny Story: We have also started to explain the true meaning of Easter to Liam this year.  He’s 3 1/2 years old (going on 15) and he’s been asking a lot of questions.  It’s honestly been challenging trying to explain death and the subsequent resurrection to him.  After one such discussion he asked if Jesus was “stinked up” (his was of saying extinct, like dinosaurs).  He also asked if his sandwich could rise from the dead …  *face palm* … Needless to say we are still working on that 🙂

And just a few pictures of our fabulous Easter weekend!  These boys and their bubbles!!  My mom got this bubble kit: 4 wands, the little inflatable tub thing and a jug of bubbles at Wal Mart! The boys were OBSESSED!

   

Since we are welcoming in spring, I created a few printables to brighten up your home.  Click the pictures to download!  They are formatted as 4×6.  Hope you enjoy them 🙂

            

Have a JOYFUL day!