Every January there is an onslaught of goal-chasing bloggers who choose their “Word of the Year” as an alternative to New Year’s Resolutions. 2020 has proven to be a most unusual year so far, and while I didn’t choose a word of the year in January, somehow it seems fitting right now to do so.  Call it a mental reset of sorts.  A clean slate, a new perspective.  We took January and February for granted, I dare say we shall never take a normal month for granted again!  Our schedules have now been cleared. When this is all over, we’ll have a chance to start anew. So, though this year is nearly half over, I choose the word ABIDE.

ABIDE has several definitions.  It usually means to dwell, to reside.  It also means to put up with. To tolerate, to endure, to sustain, to withstand.

We are in a season of abidition right now, (and yes, I just made that word up!) abiding in faith that things will eventually get back to normal.  We are waiting; making an attempt at patience while this virus sweeps through.  We are sustaining, enduring the inconveniences, injustices and heartaches.  Life may be a rollercoaster right now with dissenting viewpoints on the matter, too many conflicting expert opinions on the news and upheaval in general. Through that though, we know inherently, that better things are still coming.  The country is beginning to see a new light at the end of this tunnel of uncertainty.  We know that this too shall pass.

To me personally, the word ABIDE always carries with it a sense of peace.  A purpose.  A sense of belonging.  While we wait out the craziness around us, we can abide.

Home and motherhood are two other words that carry the same impression for me.  Home is our sanctuary. Our place of peace and security.  And alongside that, where is the safest-feeling place than in your mother’s arms?   No matter where your mother lives, it feels like home as long as she is there.

Motherhood is exhausting, inspiring, and purpose-giving.  We love our children with an unimaginable love. They are nourished, cherished, protected and provided for as long as we can. We feed them, play with them, teach them, and carry them on our shoulders as long as we’re able until they finally find their own footing, then eventually, their wings.

Unfortunately, today’s culture does not respect mothers.  Stay-at-home Moms feel less valued, less than worthy, less-woman. We’re made to suspect that we’re failing because we’re not working outside the home, or not providing enough or not contributing enough.

Moms in today’s culture are expected to be well-read and highly educated and extraordinarily organized while also spending “me time” on the beach and laughing with your cool friends that look like they belong in a beer commercial after landing that partnership at a prestigious law firm while simultaneously homeschooling the kids in Latin and Russian Art History and running a 10k each weekend for amazing causes while macrame-ing garden fences out of paracord and selling them on ETSY while leading a powerful ladies’ Bible study and toning your already chiselled abs all the while having already permanently conquered Mt. Washmore in the laundry room.