Your “Mommy Gut” Is Talking – Are You Listening?

 

Some days when I wake up, I feel deeply overwhelmed with the huge responsibility of raising these little kids.

What do I do with them? Will I give them all they need? How do I know I’m spending my days in the right way, teaching them the right things?

A few years ago if you would have told me, “Oh, you’ll be fine, just listen to your ‘Mom gut,’ ” I would have grouped you right up there with the snake charmers and palm readers. Mom gut, eh? Like a super-hero, homing-pigeon sort of radar sense…for moms? Riiiiiight. That makes total sense.

But I have since realized I was wrong. A few months ago after church I was about to eat my lunch, when I heard, “Somebody come help me.”

It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t urgent-sounding. I nearly missed it. And honestly, I was about to ignore it, or yell up, “Okay, wait a second…” because I am solicited for this or that circa 847 times each “nap.”

But something made me pause.

When I walked into Ty’s room, my heart stopped in my chest. There, standing on the window sill, with the cord of the blinds wrapped several times around his neck, was my child. I have nightmares about the look on his face. Bruises, even, from how tight the cord was.

I still think about it and get physically, physically ill. This is my calm child. My no-risks, not-curious child. The child (you know the one) that I just don’t worry about. What in the world possessed him to do that, I will never know. Is it needless to say the cords are pulled out of reach? I say it anyway.

But the point today is this.

That little voice. The choice I had to ignore it. The split second of decision.

Yes, that was a dramatic example. But it’s not always so life & death, I’ve learned. Do you hear it, too? Sometimes: “Those shoes are too big.” “Go play Candy Land.” “She’s thirsty.”

It does, after all seem to be a real thing. This gut instinct that comes in when your milk does, or when you hold the adopted one for the first time.

It seems that no matter how confusing, scary, and uncharted this motherhood journey can feel, there is deep within us far more wisdom and strength than many of us give ourselves credit for.

So often, I marvel that God made ME their mother. These three. He picked me for the job. I may not feel adequate, or wise, but I do know these children, in a way no one else will, on a level that is painful and deep and inexplicable.

And you. The same is true, no?

The truth is, we are not alone, nor helpless, though it does often feel this way. I was thinking about it the other day, and I think there are a few reasons why we do not always listen to our Mommy Gut.

1. We are too busy to listen. Every so often I have a day where I am tucking the boys into bed, and I realize, “I have not looked this child, truly, in the beautiful, precious face the entire day long.” I have been too busy cutting up noodles and refilling water bottles and herding everyone to this or that to even pause and think, or enjoy. It takes time, little moments, and long, quiet ones away from everyone, to hear the questions inside and ponder the answers.
2. We are too afraid to listen. Sometimes the Mommy Gut tells you hard things, or scary things. Sometimes it means doctor appointments for something that just won’t go away. Sometimes it tells you something is off. Sometimes it tells you a change needs to be made. It can be difficult to face the truths about ourselves or our children. But this brave honesty is ultimately the wisest, and the safest kind of mothering.
3. We doubt ourselves. What if I’m wrong, or over-reacting, or being silly? I know these thoughts, because I have them often.

And here is when I like to remind myself that it is not mere-self talk guiding my day.

No, it is more than that.

As a Christian, I really believe (though I don’t always live like it) that I daily have a mother’s helping of the Holy Spirit, with me as I scrub sinks and watch them on monitors and strap them in car seats. As unbelievable as it sounds, that the God of the Universe is really and truly with me. Guiding me, speaking to me, nudging me.

I know. It sounds unbelievable. But it’s true. God with us. Immanuel.

He cares about our job, and He cares about our children.

I am so grateful for the Lord’s voice nudging me to check on my little Ty a few months ago. And what a powerful reminder it has been to me to hear and listen to Him throughout my day, big or small. Will listening to my “Mom gut” prevent anything harmful from happening to my family? Of course not.

But I need not feel lost without a compass, and neither do you, friend. You are the mother, and you know them. You are capable. And the One Who Made Everything – he and his wisdom are no farther than a breath away.

You’ll be fine today. Just use your gut.

Oh, and if you haven’t, go pull up those blind cords. (This is your Mommy Gut talking.)

 

 

 

 

 

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