A MOMent with Brittany... — Ministry in Mothering

Dear mama, meet Brittany.

Brittany is a mom of 3 beautiful girls. I have known her for nearly 30 years, and in this time, I have watched Brittany grow up, and grow into the woman she is today. Her precious words have inspired me.

This is her story…

It’s taken me almost 33 years to learn to love this woman. I spent so much time trying to be who I thought I should be. Trying to fit into what I thought others expected of me. All the while, neglecting the one person that should matter most… me.

There was a time when I would look in the mirror and the reflection was a complete stranger. She didn’t know what she wanted. She had no goals. She had no boundaries. She didn’t believe she was beautiful. She felt inadequate. She felt undeserving.

I knew I never wanted my daughters to ever have to experience that. I wanted to raise them to be strong, confident, sure, loving, and generous. I had the revelation that negative self-talk is taught and this if I continued to live this way, I could be creating a generational wound of bitterness, anger, and complacency.

That day I chose to do something different. I decided to change my family tree. This began with me. I had to learn to love myself unapologetically. I had to instill hope, faith, love, and confidence in my children. I had to learn to forgive. Not just those that I feel hurt me, but more importantly MYSELF.

Every single day I take one step closer to being the woman I envision myself to be. And many days I fall short. But I forgive myself, show Brittany some love, and keep moving forward.

I cry when it’s necessary. I exercise my NO. I rest when I need to. And I take the time out to nurture my temple, my body. I journal to clear my mind. I create. And then I am able to pour out my best self to those in my world.