12 Ways to Know You’re a Good Mom

“Summer is over, and we need to get into a new routine,” my daughter-in-law said to my grandkids.

Being a Young Mom—and Being Blind

Her comment took me to those busy days I had as a young mom. Mornings when my sons were in grade school and I was busy ironing their uniforms and packing those lunch boxes with nutritious stuff (most of which sadly, they brought right back home).

But that was the easy part, being blind; helping them with their homework was tough. How I wished I could see if they wrote the right answers, or how good it would be if I could read the teachers’ notes. My muscles tensed, thinking of how my blindness would affect them. Some days tears trickled down. And lamenting my days gone by when I could see added to my grief.

God Was Good to Me

He sent a friend who opened the eyes of my heart.

“If you think about it,” she said, “your kids are really God’s children. He is their Father, and He’s in charge of all big and small things.”

I wiped my tears, inhaled a deep sigh and let that truth sink into my heart. It brought the encouragement I needed to sweep away those “poor-me” notions and sparked a renewed passion to care for my sons.

What Makes a Good Mom?

With a brighter outlook and a fresh love for my role as my sons’ mom, I compiled my own list of what makes a “good” mom:

1. A mom who uses prayer as her powerful weapon to defend her children.
2. A mm who knows mistakes will be corrected in the hands of a loving God.
3. A mom who might go to sleep at night with dishes still in the sink, but a bedtime story in her kid’s heart.
4. A mom who knows perfection will only happen on the other side of heaven.
5. A mom who sees her kid’s weaknesses and still smiles at his strengths.
6. A mom who places guilt in the garbage disposal of life.
7. A mom who leaves fingerprints on the glass door to place an imprint of love in her kid’s heart.
8. A mom who looks in the mirror and smiles because she is molding one of the leaders of tomorrow.
9. A mom who picks shoes off the floor, thankful her kids can walk.
10. A mom who listens to endless chatter, thankful her kids can talk.
11. A mom who’s signed a partnership with God.
12. A mom who stirs this sweetener in the coffee cup of her heart: “I can do all things through the Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).

And while she drops exhausted in bed at the end of the day, truth shines through: It’s not the items checked off on the to-do list. Accomplishments managed. The applause never heard, or the help always needed. But the certainty that echoes in her heart: her true greatness is in the Father’s eyes. Her sorrows are in his heart. And her triumphs are in His plans.

Let’s Pray

Father, thank you for Your reassurance that my children are Yours first. They belong to You and therefore, they’re under Your divine care. Thank You for the peace that truth brings me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

What promise from God makes your job as a Mom easier? {eoa}

Janet Perez Eckles is an international speaker and the author of four books. She has helped thousands conquer fear and bring back joy.

This article originally appeared at janetperezeckles.com.