LAST POST: You Are Still "In Process"

PREFACE:

Dear OFM Readers,

I am sure you have noticed that I have posted less and less as time has gone by, and maybe you have forgotten that I ever blogged on a regular basis.

As happens to all of us, we have seasons of life that ebb and flow. My season on life where my focus was completely on my children and family has moved into something different. And while I miss those days, and ache for the time when my children filled my world, and I filled theirs, I also know that the path I am now on is inspired by the Lord, and is His new plan for my life.

This past September, almost one year from the day my husband suffered a terrifying stroke (Don't worry-- he completely recovered!), I embarked on a terrifying and exciting journey of personal education by going back to college to earn a degree in Music Education with a Choral Emphasis. It has been extremely difficult and busy, but also hugely rewarding.

Though I am gone to classes 5 days a week, I do still homeschool my children, but now they are more independent in their studies using the Robinson Curriculum. We all miss spending so much time together, but I am also grateful that they have each other, that they have graduated older siblings at home to help them, and that their dad works remotely from home. So far, it is working well, and I am so grateful that they are still able to be home together.

This last post is something I wrote recently to a sweet young mother who was feeling overwhelmed, and who was struggling to see the greater purpose in the day to day drudgery of life. My heart went out to her, and I realized that my work encouraging other mothers has come to an end, for now. But I wanted to share those final thoughts with all of you, dear readers, who have stuck with me through these nearly 13 years of my blogging here at Old-Fashioned Motherhood. I hope that this post, and the posts I have written over the years, will continue to bless and uplift other mothers who have a desire to give God their best efforts in mothering their own children.

With so much love,

Mama Rachel

Dear Overwhelmed Young Mother,

Sometimes we just need a change of perspective. 

You ARE in the middle of getting an education— the most difficult education we can get in this life. 

As a mom of 13 children who is coming out of the other side of the child bearing years (my oldest is 26, youngest is 5), I can tell you that it is a difficult season of life, but it doesn’t last as long as you think it will. 

Is it exhausting? 

Yes. 

Those years of giving birth, nursing babies, changing diapers, and potty training blur together as I look back, and yet I miss it. I got good at it. I learned a TON! I became an expert on that phase of life, and then it all shifted and changed. The level of difficulty went up, but in a completely different way. 

But it is ALL needed. 

It is ALL part of God’s plan for His daughters who are called to be mothers. 

I know you get tired of hearing things like “This too shall pass,” or “It goes by so fast!” 

I know you feel like you are drowning. 

I know that the daily tasks can become heavy drudgery some days. 

I know that you don’t know who you are anymore. 

But please consider that you are still in process. 

YOU ARE STILL IN PROCESS. 

God is forming you into the amazing Queen and fantastic woman He plans for you to become. 

Motherhood is the refining process. You are existing in your melted form right now. The dross is separating from the pure silver. 

It hurts. It’s uncomfortable. It looks bleak and never-ending. 

But you are still in the flames. Your beautiful, shining, solid form is coming. 

YOU, the real you, is coming soon. She is being formed RIGHT NOW. 

Hold on, trust the Master, move through the fire. 

You will be DAZZLED by who you become.

Love,

Mama Rachel