Some mamas are made for children and lots of them. Not only are they capable of loving well their own children, but they have this God given capacity to mama the neighborhood, to mama any child. As if they can mama a hundred kids and still have room in their hearts for more. For the ones of us that do not have the mama gene, we have the choice to appreciate fondly or feel shame and envy.
One exceptional part of community is valuing one another’s gifts and realizing, by God’s great grace, that all of us were never meant to be village mamas. Some of us will be the other parts a mama needs to keep doing their role well. Maybe we will be the prayer warriors, or the one to notice mamas need the case of apples for the healthy no preservatives applesauce, or the coordinator of a thousand gifts. The joy of life is to appreciate fondly one another and never feel guilt, shame or disappointment for the way we were never designed to be.
We have many mamas in our community, precious, organized and “cannot give enough cuddles” mamas and in ways they mama all of us. One of our dear mamas is Nikki Armstrong. When she comes for muffins and pastries and cookies or for oranges, grapes, strawberries and bananas, she is preparing for all the neighborhood kids to come to her house after school. She will read them a Jesus story, play fun music, feed their bellies and listen to their little hearts.
She is one of you who asked for hotdogs, sausages, buns and chips to host a big Halloween cookout this past fall for all her neighbors. She made cute invitations and all the kids and parents came for a free dinner at their house before going out to trick or treat.
Nikki loves to host the GKC Trade Market on Sunday. She has this beautiful long flowing hair and she looks amazing as she prays with you and wraps every person that comes in that door with a big bear hug. She will text after the day ends and she is always so excited to have hugged so many of you and loved you with her mama heart. On those Sunday afternoons, she was our mama. She may stay late and scrub down the kitchen, organize all the cabinets or clean the floors. She’s all in to listen to your story and transparent and courageous enough to share hers too.
Maybe she sees that the produce load is almost back to the office, so she swings by, with her young girls and her baby boy in tow, and she unloads that box truck in her work out clothes. She chose to “work out” at GKC that day and let her kids organize canned goods and mark out the dates on donated bread.
The next thing you know, you hear that she’s wrapping up her homeschool fall semester early as she will be helping take care of two young (both less than three years old) children for a month to help out her friend who has to go to another state with her husband for a cancer surgery. Not only has she opened up her world, to take on their kids, but the three or four months prior she has spent her free time helping make juices for her friend’s husband who is battling cancer. They even pack up one weekend and go spend the time in Kentucky with this family, in-between treatments, because that is what mamas do. Mamas go, they run fast to the people, to hold them close, to let Jesus’ love flow through them, to bind up wounds.
Maybe she met you at the library to borrow your kids for the day. She noticed you needed some alone time with Jesus or had something pressing for work, so she played worship music for your kids and sang along with them, got engrossed in all their passions and fed them something nutritious. She may have brought you leftovers from a ladies luncheon, because she thought you may be hungry and would like it, or she stopped everything, got her bible, pressed in deep, and begged God for something that was crushing your tender heart. You may not even know she held you close, in the unseen places of her big heart, and she mothered you well, caring for your soul and bringing all your pain to Jesus when you had forgotten you could go to Him too.
Nikki Armstrong loves everything to be held together with that cute twine string and a lovely tag, but she realizes life is not always so beautiful. Sometimes the world shatters in front of her face or yours and no words can comfort or rescue you for the dark road you have to walk. But, she will go grab her boots and walk through the woods with you, and even when the flashlight goes out, she will stay steady and trust God will lead you both out of that scary place. All she knows is every difficulty is better together, than alone. She will remain loyal and admit she is scared too. Her tears will meet yours and she will also wonder outloud, “why” and she will hold so fast to Jesus that you will feel the “what ifs” still and see that because of Him there is more hope around the bend. She may not always know answers, but she will not let you lose sight of the Answer.
Something about a mama looks fear in the face and says, “you will not win.” She is willing to walk down any road with you no matter the severity, and she assures you “that thing” will NOT win. A mama helps you stand and reminds you – the Lord will fight for us, we need only to be still.
We all need more mamas. They nurture, protect, encourage and remind us of what is true. They remind us of Jesus.
“Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble and He delivered them from their distress (v6,13,19,28)
He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. (v8)…
He brought them out of the darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart. (v14)…
He sent out His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. (v20)…
He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and He brought them to their desired haven. (v29-30)…
Let them thank the LORD for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of man! (v8,15,21,31)” – Psalm 107
Some mamas are made for children and lots of them. Not only are they capable of loving well their own children, but they have this God given capacity to mama the neighborhood, to mama any child. As if they can mama a hundred kids and still have room in their hearts for more. For the ones of us that do not have the mama gene, we have the choice to appreciate fondly or feel shame and envy.
One exceptional part of community is valuing one another’s gifts and realizing, by God’s great grace, that all of us were never meant to be village mamas. Some of us will be the other parts a mama needs to keep doing their role well. Maybe we will be the prayer warriors, or the one to notice mamas need the case of apples for the healthy no preservatives applesauce, or the coordinator of a thousand gifts. The joy of life is to appreciate fondly one another and never feel guilt, shame or disappointment for the way we were never designed to be.
We have many mamas in our community, precious, organized and “cannot give enough cuddles” mamas and in ways they mama all of us. One of our dear mamas is Nikki Armstrong. When she comes for muffins and pastries and cookies or for oranges, grapes, strawberries and bananas, she is preparing for all the neighborhood kids to come to her house after school. She will read them a Jesus story, play fun music, feed their bellies and listen to their little hearts.
She is one of you who asked for hotdogs, sausages, buns and chips to host a big Halloween cookout this past fall for all her neighbors. She made cute invitations and all the kids and parents came for a free dinner at their house before going out to trick or treat.
Nikki loves to host the GKC Trade Market on Sunday. She has this beautiful long flowing hair and she looks amazing as she prays with you and wraps every person that comes in that door with a big bear hug. She will text after the day ends and she is always so excited to have hugged so many of you and loved you with her mama heart. On those Sunday afternoons, she was our mama. She may stay late and scrub down the kitchen, organize all the cabinets or clean the floors. She’s all in to listen to your story and transparent and courageous enough to share hers too.
Maybe she sees that the produce load is almost back to the office, so she swings by, with her young girls and her baby boy in tow, and she unloads that box truck in her work out clothes. She chose to “work out” at GKC that day and let her kids organize canned goods and mark out the dates on donated bread.
The next thing you know, you hear that she’s wrapping up her homeschool fall semester early as she will be helping take care of two young (both less than three years old) children for a month to help out her friend who has to go to another state with her husband for a cancer surgery. Not only has she opened up her world, to take on their kids, but the three or four months prior she has spent her free time helping make juices for her friend’s husband who is battling cancer. They even pack up one weekend and go spend the time in Kentucky with this family, in-between treatments, because that is what mamas do. Mamas go, they run fast to the people, to hold them close, to let Jesus’ love flow through them, to bind up wounds.
Maybe she met you at the library to borrow your kids for the day. She noticed you needed some alone time with Jesus or had something pressing for work, so she played worship music for your kids and sang along with them, got engrossed in all their passions and fed them something nutritious. She may have brought you leftovers from a ladies luncheon, because she thought you may be hungry and would like it, or she stopped everything, got her bible, pressed in deep, and begged God for something that was crushing your tender heart. You may not even know she held you close, in the unseen places of her big heart, and she mothered you well, caring for your soul and bringing all your pain to Jesus when you had forgotten you could go to Him too.
Nikki Armstrong loves everything to be held together with that cute twine string and a lovely tag, but she realizes life is not always so beautiful. Sometimes the world shatters in front of her face or yours and no words can comfort or rescue you for the dark road you have to walk. But, she will go grab her boots and walk through the woods with you, and even when the flashlight goes out, she will stay steady and trust God will lead you both out of that scary place. All she knows is every difficulty is better together, than alone. She will remain loyal and admit she is scared too. Her tears will meet yours and she will also wonder outloud, “why” and she will hold so fast to Jesus that you will feel the “what ifs” still and see that because of Him there is more hope around the bend. She may not always know answers, but she will not let you lose sight of the Answer.
Something about a mama looks fear in the face and says, “you will not win.” She is willing to walk down any road with you no matter the severity, and she assures you “that thing” will NOT win. A mama helps you stand and reminds you – the Lord will fight for us, we need only to be still.
We all need more mamas. They nurture, protect, encourage and remind us of what is true. They remind us of Jesus.
“Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble and He delivered them from their distress (v6,13,19,28)
He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. (v8)…
He brought them out of the darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart. (v14)…
He sent out His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. (v20)…
He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and He brought them to their desired haven. (v29-30)…
Let them thank the LORD for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of man! (v8,15,21,31)” – Psalm 107
Some mamas are made for children and lots of them. Not only are they capable of loving well their own children, but they have this God given capacity to mama the neighborhood, to mama any child. As if they can mama a hundred kids and still have room in their hearts for more. For the ones of us that do not have the mama gene, we have the choice to appreciate fondly or feel shame and envy.
Nikki loves to host the GKC Trade Market on Sunday. She has this beautiful long flowing hair and she looks amazing as she prays with you and wraps every person that comes in that door with a big bear hug. She will text after the day ends and she is always so excited to have hugged so many of you and loved you with her mama heart. On those Sunday afternoons, she was our mama. She may stay late and scrub down the kitchen, organize all the cabinets or clean the floors. She’s all in to listen to your story and transparent and courageous enough to share hers too.
Maybe she met you at the library to borrow your kids for the day. She noticed you needed some alone time with Jesus or had something pressing for work, so she played worship music for your kids and sang along with them, got engrossed in all their passions and fed them something nutritious. She may have brought you leftovers from a ladies luncheon, because she thought you may be hungry and would like it, or she stopped everything, got her bible, pressed in deep, and begged God for something that was crushing your tender heart. You may not even know she held you close, in the unseen places of her big heart, and she mothered you well, caring for your soul and bringing all your pain to Jesus when you had forgotten you could go to Him too.