Monday, July 12, 2010
I am not a superhero...and proud of it
Ladies - I must get this off my chest. If you got up this morning and cleaned your house and did laundry and went to the grocery store, you are not superwoman, you are human. If you played with your kids, fed them, bathed them, read them stories and put them to bed you are not Mrs. Incredible, you are a mom. If you spent time with your husband, cooked his favorite meal, watched television with him, had sex with him you are not wonder woman, you are a wife. If you went to the Y, took an aerobics class or ran two or even 14 miles you are not batgirl (sorry, ran out of superheros) you are health conscious. In our culture today there is a need to be patted on the back, recognized for what we do. I am guilty of this. It's okay to share war stories and talk about our days, but when did living a normal life make us think we are superwomen? If I see a house that is messy (like mine today?) I think I'm not getting done what should be done (this is in part because I made my kids clean their rooms, generating 4 extra loads of laundry and extra sinkful of dishes). If I'm out of milk (like this morning and Steve and Nate couldn't have their raisin bran and Wheaties Fuel), I feel like I have dropped the ball. If I don't spend time with my kids, make sure they are fed (I don't bathe them because they are 13 and 18 and that would be weird) and taken care it could be considered abuse. If I don't meet my husbands needs, he quite possibly could look elsewhere. And if I don't take care of my health I won't be around to continue to look after my family 20 years from now. I think about the amazing women in my life who take care of their families and themselves in a positive non-complaining way and I think that is the super power. The positive attitude in a busy overwhelming life. The strength to get up and do it over and over again, sometimes on the brink of exhaustion, because that is what is expected.
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Man alive! The lady bloggers are winning my heart over and over again today!
ReplyDeleteGood for you for making such a bold and truthful statement! Whatever happened to humility, right? Granted, it's nice to be appreciated, but doing things with the expectation of recognition is not the reason to do what we need to do. We should do all things out of selfless, Godly love and when the appreciation comes, be thankful for it. But don't expect it.
This sort of ties in to what we were talking about in Sunday School yesterday. We're studying 1 Corinthians (in the 12th chapter) where Paul talks about spiritual gifts. Something that came up in discussion is that when you use your gift, you are less likely to exhaust yourself giving and serving (not saying that you won't tire out, but just that your passion drives you and your efforts bring you joy and energize you).
If your passion is God, your husband (or wife) and your family, you will serve them and love on them joyfully and there will be no expectation of a great reward. The joy and the glory God receives IS the reward. Again, not to say that we women don't tire out because we do - we're still human. But I believe that our motivations effect the genuineness of our efforts.