{"id":91429,"date":"2019-10-15T16:38:18","date_gmt":"2019-10-15T22:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/?p=91429"},"modified":"2019-10-15T16:38:18","modified_gmt":"2019-10-15T22:38:18","slug":"how-motherhood-has-changed-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/articles\/topics\/parenting\/essentials\/mothers\/how-motherhood-has-changed-me\/","title":{"rendered":"How Motherhood Has Changed Me"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

I saw a meme the other day that said, \u201cMotherhood is an extreme sport. That\u2019s why we have to wear workout clothes everyday.\u201d It\u2019s a tad clich\u00e9, but when I think about how motherhood has changed me, one of the first things that comes to mind is my wardrobe.<\/p>\n

When I was in college, I had a carefully curated wardrobe full of cute outfits. Now, 11 years and two kids later, my wardrobe has drastically changed.<\/p>\n

Since I\u2019m a stay-at-home-mom, I wear mostly \u201cathleisure.\u201d If you haven\u2019t heard that term, don\u2019t worry. I\u2019m pretty sure it was made up by women who want to make workout clothes feel fancier than they really are.<\/p>\n

And when I\u2019m not wearing workout clothes, I wear a lot of stretchy jeans and loose fitting black shirts. Because black is slimming, right? And this girl needs slimming. Because motherhood has definitely changed my body.<\/p>\n

How motherhood changed my body<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I have never had six-pack abs, but I danced for the first 10 years of my life before I began playing sports. I played field hockey, cheered, and ran track all through high school. Decades later, motherhood added even more rolls and jiggle on top of the freshman 30 I gained in college.<\/p>\n

My body carried two babies\u2014growing limbs, organs, and entire personalities. My body fed those two babies for six months after each was born.<\/p>\n

My body has become a jungle gym, a safe shelter, and a sea monster, chasing and catching my kids while throwing them into a fit of giggles. It has become strong enough to carry around two little boys when they\u2019re tired, strong enough to protect them from scary thunder and bad dreams.<\/p>\n

My body has become something I don\u2019t aim to keep healthy in order to look good, but in order to keep up with two little Energizer Bunnies. To make sure I\u2019m around for to see them grow up, become adults, and have families of their own.<\/p>\n

Where I used to view my body as something that needed to look fit and trim for the sake of looking good, I now view it as powerful and able for the sake of my children.<\/p>\n

My body is no longer only about me. It\u2019s about my future and my kids\u2019 futures. My love for them drives my view of my body.<\/p>\n

How motherhood has changed my view of myself<\/strong><\/h2>\n

To be honest, I spent most of my 20s trying to be someone I wasn\u2019t. I wanted to be the sporty girl, the preppy girl, the lovable nerd, you name it. I was a chameleon. I had no idea who I was or how God created me uniquely. I saw everyone else and wished I could be who they were.<\/p>\n

I was like Julia Roberts’ character in the movie Runaway Bride. <\/em>Her favorite type of eggs were dependent upon how her current boyfriend liked his eggs. Finally single and ready to discover who she was, she sat down and tried multiple types of eggs. She realized eggs Benedict were her favorite. (Can\u2019t argue with that Julia, eggs Benedict are delicious!)<\/p>\n

For me, it wasn\u2019t eggs that forced me into self-discovery. It was marriage, motherhood, depression, and entering my 30s.<\/p>\n

When a mentor and others spoke into my life, I realized that who I was, uniquely me, was special and good. I didn\u2019t have to be someone else. I was me, and God created me that way for a reason.<\/p>\n

As a mom, I no longer had the time and effort to try to be someone else. I guess you could say I had a slight, quarter-life crisis. But in truth, it was God knocking on the door of my life telling me He wanted me to stop striving and start thriving in who I was. It would make me a better mother, wife, friend, and person.<\/p>\n

And it definitely did!<\/p>\n

Download a free 30-day guide to praying for your children.<\/i><\/span> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>\n

How motherhood changed my view of others<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I stopped judging and started empathizing. I stopped talking and started listening. To the Lord. To others. To myself. And what I found was that everyone is unique, and that\u2019s what makes us special.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t homeschool my preschooler like my friend Beth. I don\u2019t work as much as my friend Erin. I could never be a third-grade teacher like my friend Tammy. I don\u2019t know if I could handle three kids like my sister-in-law Annie. And you know what? That\u2019s OK. None of our situations are wrong. They\u2019re just different.<\/p>\n

And different is OK. Different is what brings fun and color and excitement to life. If we were all the same, we would live in a boring world. Different makes us see Jesus. We are all created in His image, and when you think about how different we all are, that\u2019s pretty amazing that we ALL mirror His image.<\/p>\n

How motherhood HASN\u2019T changed me<\/strong><\/h2>\n

And that brings me to how motherhood HASN\u2019T changed me. At my core, I am still the same Jenn I was before I became a mother. I still love to read, hate to clean, and encourage others well. I still love chick flicks, hate watching golf, and live on coffee.<\/p>\n

I am still the girl whose identity needs to be found in Christ in order to live a life glorifying to God. I am still a daughter of the King FIRST. Then I am a wife, mother, friend, encourager. I still need Jesus.<\/p>\n

No matter what stage of life I\u2019m in, that is one thing that will never change. My need for Jesus. I need to love Him first, or nothing else in my life will make sense. With Him, I can move mountains, influence others to know Him, love my husband and my children well. Without Him, my whole world will fall apart.<\/p>\n

Cellulite, stretch marks, and cranky babies may come and go, but my best life will always be one with Jesus in the driver’s seat. And thank goodness for that, because this exhausted mom loves a good road-trip nap!<\/p>\n

\n

Copyright \u00a9 2019 Jenn Grandlienard. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n

Jenn Grandlienard grew up an East Coast Philly girl. But now loves calling the Midwest her home. She lives in Xenia, Ohio with her husband, Stuart, two sons, Knox and Zeke, and pup, Stella. Jenn and her husband work with Athletes in Action, a ministry of Cru that teaches college athletes what it means to have a relationship with Jesus. Check out her blog OurGrandLife.com<\/a>. Find her on Instagram at\u00a0@mrsjenngrand<\/a>\u00a0and on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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