Our Mom Village
Heather Jones

Over the past eight years of being a mom, God has taught me that I cannot do it alone. More than anything, I need the Lord’s grace, guidance, and wisdom to help me every step of the way, but I also need friends – women who are on the same journey as I am. Friends that I can talk to and walk through motherhood with. Ones that I can laugh with and also cry with. Ones that I can celebrate the victories with and mourn the disappointments. I need meaningful, Christ-centered relationships in my life that God has hand-picked for me in this season.

I also need mentors. Women who have “been there, done that” to encourage me, pray for me, and push me towards being more like Jesus. I need to be surrounded by women of all ages who love the Lord and know His Word.

The bottom line is, I need a village – a Mom Village!

Last week, my son had a minor medical procedure done. Although I knew it was a relatively minor surgery and that the doctor had done the procedure many times before, to see your child get pushed back into an operating room, regardless of what it’s for, is never easy.

He was trying so hard to be brave and courageous, but tears were rolling down his face, and my momma’s heart was broken. I needed comfort.

We returned to the waiting room, and I prayed for the Lord’s comfort to come over me and for Him to give peace to my son. I love how the Lord comforts you at times through the people He has placed in your life – your village. It was a moment I needed the village that God had blessed me with; sure enough, they sprang into action.

My village began reaching out. Women who knew about my son’s procedure that morning texted me to encourage me and tell me I was being prayed for. A couple of them shared their own experiences about their children who had the same procedure done, reassuring me that I was not alone and that everything was going to be ok. My village became the voice of Jesus in a very simple way, and it reminded me how important it is to have a community of women in your life.

 As moms, especially ones with young children, we can fall into the trap of thinking that we are alone in the journey and that our struggles are isolated cases that start and end with ourselves.

We believe lies like these:

• I am the only mom who struggles with patience.
• I am the only mom who struggles with disobedient children.
• I am the only mom who feels depressed.
• I am the only mom who feels overwhelmed.
• I am the only mom who…. You can fill in the blank with anything.

We start believing the lie that every other mom around us has it all together. And that we do not. We compare ourselves to others and develop a standard based on the lies that we believe.

A Christ-centered village can bring us out of this mindset. When we connect with other women, God often reveals some common ground in the journey. I had no idea the number of other moms I knew who had “been there, done that” with the same medical procedure as my son. The amount of comfort that simple fact brought me was a game changer. Our village reminds us that we don’t have to do it alone and that, as women, we need healthy, wisdom-filled friendships in our life. Life is so much sweeter with a village.

My son has had a tough week recovering, but I know there has been so much prayer covering my family, and I know the Lord has been nearby.

The book of Psalms is a great place to go if we need encouragement on hard days – and in motherhood, there are many. It reminds us of God’s goodness and faithfulness, no matter our circumstances.

Here are a few that I hope will remind you of how good the Father is and His love for us as women and mothers:

The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.
Psalm 145:9

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him.
Psalm 34:8

I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 18:1-2

So, as we encounter the women God has placed in our life for this season, let us cast out the lies that so easily entangle us and instead become a safe place for one another to share in the journey and become one another’s village. Let us pray for one another, be an open ear for one another, fight the temptation to gossip about our differences, and truly be women and mothers who pursue becoming more and more like Jesus every day.

If you need a Mom Village, we invite you to be a part of ours at Raising Arrows!