This weekend, I hit a milestone in my mothering career that for me truly signifies the next step in my journey.
I attended my last MOPS meeting.
Brody will start 1st grade in the fall and that makes me no longer eligible the way MOPS is designed. I have been in MOPS since Connor was just a couple of months old, and I remember attending my first meeting. I was a new mom and hadn't been out much with my little bundle of joy and since MOPS was a new experience for me, I made sure I was adequately prepared for anything. I am still teased about the sheer amount of "stuff" I brought into that first meeting, my stroller piled so high, I doubt you could even see my sweet baby in there!
I realize how much MOPS has been a part of life, especially in the early years. I met SO many of my really good friends there who have shared such an important time of my life with me and my boys. I learned so much about parenting in general, and about being a wife from the mentors in the group. I will always remember Aldeanna telling me..."you have to remember; we are not raising children, we are raising adults." I will always remember the amazing stories of love lived through her stories of her marriage to Pastor Don. I was constantly moved by the sweetness of Dorothy Veliquette and how she prayed for all of us. Her stories made me laugh and cry and her dedication to her marriage and her kids has inspired me.
I attended my last MOPS meeting.
Brody will start 1st grade in the fall and that makes me no longer eligible the way MOPS is designed. I have been in MOPS since Connor was just a couple of months old, and I remember attending my first meeting. I was a new mom and hadn't been out much with my little bundle of joy and since MOPS was a new experience for me, I made sure I was adequately prepared for anything. I am still teased about the sheer amount of "stuff" I brought into that first meeting, my stroller piled so high, I doubt you could even see my sweet baby in there!
I realize how much MOPS has been a part of life, especially in the early years. I met SO many of my really good friends there who have shared such an important time of my life with me and my boys. I learned so much about parenting in general, and about being a wife from the mentors in the group. I will always remember Aldeanna telling me..."you have to remember; we are not raising children, we are raising adults." I will always remember the amazing stories of love lived through her stories of her marriage to Pastor Don. I was constantly moved by the sweetness of Dorothy Veliquette and how she prayed for all of us. Her stories made me laugh and cry and her dedication to her marriage and her kids has inspired me.
I was forever changed by "the ooey gooey lady" and fed numerous yummy breakfast meals and more egg dishes than I could count. I was given a place to participate in leadership by putting to good use some of my interests and passions. I was given a place to "vent" and share my frustrations that went into my new everyday life of mommyhood. I found a new place to belong.
MOPS meant so much to me that I even spent a few years organizing a Teen MOPS because I wanted them to be blessed as I was through this incredible ministry.
But now, I have big kids. I can no longer use the term "babysitter" (just ask the boys!) and I can no longer attend MOPS. It does go by fast.....
Thank you MOPS for being there for me...I pray that God will continue to use this outlet, and mothers all over the world, to reach and connect with each other as we tackle one of the toughest jobs on earth.
4 comments:
Sorry you are finished with MOPS for now. I can totally see you as a mentor someday so I am sure you will be involved in it again. I was moved reading about your experience and about Aldeana in particular. She went home to be with Jesus today. I will miss her so much but am so happy she is with the Lord.
It's so sweet to read your thoughts and experiences, since some of them were mine, too. But also because you were a blessing in turn to so many lives through Teen MOPS.
Love you! Hope these new years of mothering older boys are even more exciting!
I love your tribute to MOPS. It is an amazing ministry that touches so many lives! I am so glad that our friendship has blossomed out of that same desire to be Godly, wives, mothers, and friends.
Maaaaaan, how did I miss this post? I am all choked up. MOPS meant so much to me as well. It was like God plunked me and my sweet first baby out of our "new mommy caos" and put us down right in the perfect spot MOPS at YCC! I got to be loved on by Aldeana and Dorothy, I met you and Marianne and to many others to count who are life long friends, I learned that buying crafts for 75 women at $1.25 is NOT althogther impossible. :) And so much more. Thank you for the post friend.
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