It’s been a few months short of three years since I made motherhood my full-time job. Since May of 2019, I’ve had the privilege of serving my family while my husband works hard to support us financially.  Most of the time I think it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, but there are moments when I question my decision.  Sometimes the questioning occurs after hearing the 167th “MOM!!!” of the hour, and other times it comes along when I miss being a teacher.  Most of those times arise out of an off-handed conversation with a well-meaning individual, and it generally goes something like this:

Well-Meaning Individual: So what do you do?

Me: Well I used to be a teacher, but now I’m just a stay-at-home mom.

I consistently tell people I’m just a stay-at-home mom, but the truth is I’m not.  My intention for the future is to eliminate the word “just” from the conversation.  A quick Google search of definitions of the word just yields such definitions as “only” and “no more than”.  I could write an entire blog post about thinking of myself as “only” a stay-at-home mom, but instead I want to share my heart regarding the concept of being “no more than”.  

I’m frequently bogged down by my own self-sabotage of what I’ve chosen to do in life, and my own perception of being “no more than” a stay-at-home mom.  I struggle with my sense of self worth when it comes to staying home with my kids.  I convince myself that everyone thinks of me as lazy, or as someone who couldn’t hack it as a teacher.  I misinterpret small, innocuous  comments as insults about my lack of work outside our home.  I make sure to let people know about my former occupation, as if somehow I’m more worthy of their time since I used to teach.  I’m adamant that I’ll go back to teaching one day, which prompts people to ask for a timeline.  The truth is that I have no idea if or when I’ll go back (and that could also be another blog post), but for some reason I think I owe people an explanation of when I’ll “go back to work”.

Unfortunately, I’ve allowed my own insecurities to reduce my view of my role in our family to “just” a stay-at-home mom.  I lose sight of how long I’ve wanted this life and how badly I wanted it only a few years ago.  I no longer want to think of myself as “no more than” a SAHM.  I don’t need to be more than a stay-at-home mom.  Doing this for my family has been a dream since the early years of my marriage.  I am not lazy.  I’m no less valuable to society than I was as a teacher.  If I go back to teaching one day–great.  If I don’t–great.  

I’m also aware that I’m not alone in the fight against “no more than”.  I know people from all sorts of occupations that feel like they’re less valuable than others because they haven’t contributed enough.  I urge you to eliminate the word “just” from your own self-description.  You are worthy and loved.  You are made in the image of God.  Whatever you do, as long as it’s bettering your family in some way–it is more than enough.  

I’d like to leave you with Colossians 3:23, which instructs us that “whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people”.  Working from the heart and for the Lord will always be enough.