Momitis

All of us need a friend we can talk to about anything. It's a human instinct. I am blessed to have several friends that I feel I can open up to. I have one friend, however, who practically shares a brain with me. I say this because it doesn't matter what I say, she gets me. We can laugh about stupid things, encourage one another in perfect ways, and talk about anything without feeling judged. Laura always turns me towards the Lord. She always reminds me to pray when I'm stressed. She always reminds me that God is in control. She knows exactly when to ask that grounding "Have you prayed about this?" question that pulls me back towards our Father. She is a gift from God.

Yesterday I get to spend some time with Laura and, because we are girls, we ended up talking about hair and make-up. She did mine for me and taught me new fun tricks. But the lesson I learned was a lot bigger than how to blend eyeshadow...

We decided I have what I like to call "Momitis". I'm not actually a mom, of course, but I take care of myself like one. I work 50+ hours a week in a place where hair and make-up are the least of my worries. I'm an online student so I wear my PJ's to class. I have always had this concept that my appearance doesn't matter to the kingdom of God so why let myself get distracted by it. I don't allow myself to get caught up in my appearance because I feel "guilty". Sound familiar?

I'm not saying that taking care of your appearance is something to focus on. But after my wonderful talk with Laura, I think God enjoys us having fun. He created us, right? He gave us our long locks and I think He enjoys watching us play with them. There's no reason for me to avoid wearing make-up or nice clothes just because I serve God. It does, however, mean that I need to keep it in check. I should never allow it to distract me from Christ.

I want to encourage all of my "Mom" friends out there (including those of us who aren't moms but treat ourselves like them) to allow yourself some slack. It's ok to take care of yourself. It's ok to wear eyeshadow. It's ok to take a few extra minutes to get ready. How many of us keep track of laundry, dishes, dinner, and schedules without a hitch? But the one thing we slack off on is ourselves. Because we don't have to listen to ourselves complain. Nobody notices when we don't take care of ourselves because we excuse it for each other. "It just comes with the territory."

Glorify God by praising His creativity. Glorify Him by having a taking care of yourself. Not because you should, but because you can. It's ok to have fun, right?

So, after we came up with my diagnosis, Laura surprised me at work today with a gift. She got me eye shadow, mascara, brushes, everything a girl needs! I wanted to fall over when I saw it. I wanted to cry. I wanted go in the bathroom and start experimenting with it. It's not the things that made the gift important to me. It's the concept. She gave me a box of "You're important." She gave me a box of "You matter too."

That's a good friend. Thanks Laura!