The Brave Art of Motherhood
By Rachel Marie Martin
Several years ago my best
friend Maria and I attended one of those paint and sip classes.
The room was filled with
people all painting the same image, following the same steps, and yet, when it
was done all of our paintings looked different. Some of us spent more time on
the trees, others on the moon, some had darker shades of colors and others had
more purples. All of us made mistakes too. I remember mine and how I tried to
fix it but I still knew there were spaces were I messed up.
My friend Maria couldn’t see
the mistakes, you know.
And when we were done the
whole class stood together sharing their paintings and not one single painting
looked the same. They were all uniquely beautiful, but not one alike.
That’s the art of motherhood,
my dear friends.
All of us start our journeys
with this intent to be good moms, to raise our kids well, to live a life of
joy. And just like the painting class none of our stories look the same. Some
of us have times of mistakes or hardships. Sometimes it is easy and the story
seems to just flow. Sometimes we can feel stuck in a season or a part of the
story. And all of our stories are, just like the paintings, uniquely beautiful.
You see art is messy.
It rarely looks like the end
product. There are times where we doubt, where we have to spend extra time,
where we wonder if it will ever turn out to be anything beautiful, where we
wish we could start over but we’re stuck, where we just keep trying, where we have
times where it is easy. That is our motherhood stories.
Listen sweet sister, just
because our stories, our motherhood paintings, don’t look the same means one is
better than the other. They are both wonderful, both beautiful, both worthy.
You are enough in
your story. You are enough when you fight for your heart. You are enough when
you try again and again. You are enough when life is messy. You are enough when
life is good.
You are brave.
That’s the other part, the
last part. So often bravery seems to be reserved for the big moments in life,
but bravery also happens in the in-between spaces. In the days when you just
don’t know what to do next and you will yourself down the stairs and you make
breakfast. In the times when you walk into a doctor’s office and demand
answers. In the moments when you walk and walk and walk with a colicky baby. In
the every day showing up to a life that is imperfectly perfect.
You see my friends,
no where does it say motherhood is perfect.
But all of our messy,
imperfect, trying, showing up motherhood stories are unique masterpieces.
Because they all
matter.
So stand with your friends
and don’t compare and don’t grade – but rather – love the collective story.
Of motherhood.
~Rachel
About the Author
Rachel
Marie Martin believes in the power of the human spirit to overcome, to thrive
and to find deep joy and because of that she pours out her heart via these
platforms: she is the writer behind the site FindingJoy.net, partner of
BloggingConcentrated.com, co-host of the Amplify Podcast, and a featured writer
for The Huffington Post. Her top blog post, "Why Being a Mom is
Enough" has surpassed 1.9 million Facebook likes and she has had her
articles translated into over 25 languages. Her site reaches millions of
visitors and has a robust, engaged Facebook community. Her articles have been
featured in The Huffington Post, iVillage, The Today Show, Star Tribune,
iVillage, Stuff New Zealand, PopSugar, Parents, What to
Expect, Mamalode, NBC Parents, Dr. Greene, and many more. Her first book,
"The Brave Art of Motherhood", published by Penguin Random House, was
released on October 9, 2018.
She speaks worldwide about a variety of empowering topics ranging from motherhood to social media marketing to website strategy to writing to creating an authentic community. She believes in living each day intentionally and loves working with others to cultivate a vision, realize their potential and see their dreams become a reality.
She speaks worldwide about a variety of empowering topics ranging from motherhood to social media marketing to website strategy to writing to creating an authentic community. She believes in living each day intentionally and loves working with others to cultivate a vision, realize their potential and see their dreams become a reality.
WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:
WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK
About the Book:
Title: THE BRAVE ART OF MOTHERHOOD
Author: Rachel Marie Martin
Publisher: Random House
Pages: 204
Genre: Self-Help
Author: Rachel Marie Martin
Publisher: Random House
Pages: 204
Genre: Self-Help
BOOK BLURB:
Full-time
FindingJoy.net blogger, speaker, marketer, podcaster, and single mom of seven,
Rachel Marie Martin presents a wake-up call to those of us who have found
ourselves stuck in the 'I'm just a mom' phase of life.
Yes, this book is about motherhood . . . but really, this book is about finding yourself again and following your passion WHILE being a mom. Inspired by her incredible story, Rachel's words always come straight from the gut; they are visceral, real and soul searching. She challenges you to find the courage to break cycles, to take off masks and not let fear take control. This book is a balance of tough, "no excuses" ways of approaching life, while allowing breathing room and grace for yourself, for as we all know, life and mothering are not perfect.
After inspiring and conversing with thousands of women, Rachel has surmised there is always a reason to hope, to move forward and a reason to dare doing what you thought was impossible. (Yes, including what you are skeptical of accomplishing right now). She encourages you to say yes to your dreams and stop waiting for "someday" or "one day" or "when something happens".
Prepare to change the way you think about yourself and your life. This will be a book you read over and over armed with a highlighter in one hand and a journal for introspection in another.
Yes, this book is about motherhood . . . but really, this book is about finding yourself again and following your passion WHILE being a mom. Inspired by her incredible story, Rachel's words always come straight from the gut; they are visceral, real and soul searching. She challenges you to find the courage to break cycles, to take off masks and not let fear take control. This book is a balance of tough, "no excuses" ways of approaching life, while allowing breathing room and grace for yourself, for as we all know, life and mothering are not perfect.
After inspiring and conversing with thousands of women, Rachel has surmised there is always a reason to hope, to move forward and a reason to dare doing what you thought was impossible. (Yes, including what you are skeptical of accomplishing right now). She encourages you to say yes to your dreams and stop waiting for "someday" or "one day" or "when something happens".
Prepare to change the way you think about yourself and your life. This will be a book you read over and over armed with a highlighter in one hand and a journal for introspection in another.
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