“I’m just a mom.” How many times have I sighed and said those words as an answer to the question, “What do you do?” I’m just a mom.

You see I have friends who are insta-famous, running large organizations, CEO’s of businesses, big-time makeup artists, authors of international best-selling books. And here I am a homeschooling mom of four, struggling to write new words between “Mommy, mommy,” interruptions, get my current books in reader’s hands, blog when my computer somehow deletes 1000 words that can’t be recovered, oh, and be a human.

Sure, I am a mom. But the word just adds a connotation that it’s the only thing I define myself as. I am no longer a woman or a wife or anything else valuable. I’m just a mom. A living being whose only purpose is to feed little mouths, clean little bottoms, referee little arguments, etc. Like the momma pig at the state fair who lays in the corner while all her little piglets tumble over each other to suck momma dry.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying anything against being a mom—stay-at-home, working, work-at-home, or otherwise. In fact, I’m very much for doing whatever you feel is right for your family, for you, and for the calling on your life. Us moms, we’ve got to stick together.

That being said, don’t we sometimes categorize ourselves less than who we really are. I am not at all just a mom.

It reminds me of the song Just a Girl by No Doubt:

“‘Cause I’m just a girl, little ol’ me
Well don’t let me out of your sight
Oh, I’m just a girl, all pretty and petite
So don’t let me have any rights
Oh, I’ve had it up to here!”

Here’s my version:

‘Cause I’m just a mom, little ol’ me

Well don’t let me out of your sight

Oh, I’m just a mom, can’t you let me pee

Without all your interrupting cries

Oh, I’ve had it up to here!

You mommas know exactly what I’m talking about!

Just a mom implies that we have no life of our own outside of our children. No identity to connect us with our soul’s passion.

Dear reader, you are more than just a _______. If being a mom isn’t the one thing you struggle to define yourself as, let me put it this way. You are more than just one thing. God made us to be multi-dimensional. In fact, we can even be two things that are categorically different but still be both at the same time! I am a homebody, but I enjoy adventure. I am an introvert who sometimes acts like an extrovert.

Maybe we should change our small talk from “What do you do?” to “Who are you deep down?” Or even, “What’s your story?”

I know, I know, that would be weird. Try it sometime and I bet the person you are talking to will look around for a camera assuming their reactions are being captured for a video about to go viral.

But the point is, we are more than the work we do. We are more than a title or a label can give.

Each with our own unique gifts. We just have to remind ourselves sometimes.

So who am I?

I am a learner. An observer. A saver. A wannabe adventurer. Sucker for teeny-bopper movies. Analyzer. Realist. Disciple. Homebody. A loud talker. People-watcher. Storyteller.

And none of those are about a job. None of those diminish my ability to be a mom, or a wife, or a woman, or a writer. In fact, they make me a better person when I remember to explore them.

Tell me, dear reader, who are you deep down?

Say it out loud even now! Every time you start to say, “Oh, I’m just…” catch yourself and reshape that word image.

Don’t put limits around yourself. Even on rough days, you are more and can do more than you can possibly imagine. I believe in you!

 

 

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