It’s a Thursday afternoon. I'm officially past the half way mark of the week, and I'm starting to feel the tired.  There is a "mom" tired that is hard to explain to your spouse, or others, but I believe all mom's know what this tired is.  It's the even if you had the chance to sleep you don't kind of tired. You try and create some alone time, but your mind is still racing and a shower becomes the ultimate spa treatment which used to require a massage and facial to give you the same effect!

This mom tired can lead me to making mom tired decisions. For instance, I can look at the pile of laundry that needs folded and, not only fold it, but get it put away in its rightful spot. Or, I can fold it on the couch, and then place the folded laundry back in the laundry basket and pull out what I need over the next week from the basket. I can squeeze in a quick work out from that page I tore out of my health magazine, or I can not. Or my favorite, I can head into the kitchen and prep a healthy lunch. I’m thinking quinoa with roasted veggies from the garden with a side is seasonal berries. But instead I go into the kitchen and bypass the berries because I haven’t washed them yet, decide I’m not cooking, and settle on chips and guacamole because that’s a healthy alternative, right? But then the afternoon comes, and I need a snack because chips and guacamole wasn’t quite enough. That’s when the Oreo's come out because when Mom tired hits on a Thursday afternoon it seems like the right thing to do. 

The Oreo's are a sweet and small example of what we start to crave when we are hungry and haven't had proper nourishment.  How often does this happen in other areas of our life?  We are either completely malnourished, or, sometimes worse, we fall short in feeding ourselves enough of the good stuff so we end up compensating with junk!  We typically recognize if we are malnourished or neglecting ourselves, but I think it’s harder to recognize the compensating with junk. So we grab the Oreos because it’s Thursday, and we’re tired.

As a Christian I find myself grabbing the Oreo's in several areas of my life if I haven't filled myself up with Christ.  I can honestly say I have never been malnourished when it comes to my faith.  I have always had access to a church, and my parents and grandparents are strong believers.  So regardless of whether you consider guacamole a healthy alternative or not, I am at least getting something other than sugar in my lunch, and I have had access to tools that encourage my faith.  So, as far as my lunch decisions and faith walk, I feel as though the foundation is solid and I’ve never been malnurished.

But some days are Mondays and somedays are Thursday’s, and when we reach for the Oreo's instead of the healthy alternative we are choosing to fill ourselves with junk. We are playing the comparison game in motherhood instead of knowing that God made us mothers to our children for a reason. We start comparing bodies, education, financial status, and anything else we can find to fill ourselves up.  We create an inner dialogue to remind ourselves why we haven’t received the promotion, gotten married, or lost the weight. Many of us are not living malnourished lives, we have pieces of what we need, so its easy to tell ourselves little lies to fill in the gaps from a lunch that just wasn't enough.  We are human. We experience both Mondays and Thursdays.  

Instead of filling ourselves with negatives that come from the comparison game, let’s eat a healthy lunch. Let’s strive for more Mondays! Let’s fill ourselves with a reminder that we are loved by God, and He has the ability to completely fill us up!  Our value and worth come from Him. When it's Monday and you have enough energy to put the laundry away, get a work out in, and prepare the best lunch to nourish your body, our God is going to be right there with you! When it’s Thursday and laundry is only half way done, there is no way you can work out, and you reach for the Oreo's because lunch wasn't enough, our God is still walking there beside us and filling in the gaps!  And if we reach a moment in life when we truly are malnourished He has prepared a table and is waiting patiently to eat a meal with us! Our God stands with us on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! 

Whether it’s your Monday or Thursday, remember that you are enough and your gaps have been filled! 

(I hope that I didn't give an Oreo a bad rap. If you are mom tired, go eat an Oreo...you deserve it.)