How To Be A Stable Mom Instead of An Emotional Mess

Do you struggle sometimes as an emotional mess instead of showing stability in your actions? These tips will help you stabilize your emotions as you grow in grace.

No one ever shares the real emotional picture on social outlets. Instead, we see smiles that mask the emotional mess deep inside.

Maybe you’re fine today.

But what if you’re an emotional mess and your secret is hidden behind a smile?

Do you take a million selfies and share the best one? I do too!

I often take a picture of my Bible journaling art when my desk is a disaster! Once the picture is cropped, you can’t see the mess.

This morning I woke with anxious thoughts racing through my mind.

The more I thought about the situation, the more the scenario grew in my mind. There was some truth to the original situation that happened several years ago but the more I thought about it, the more it grew out of proportion inside my head.

My mind was going back to a time when I was an emotional mess. Most of my world never knew what happened.

You might be going through an extremely tough situation. You smile for the selfie but inside your mind is working overtime thinking about your situation.

I desperately needed to renew my mind because the enemy of my soul was attacking me.

When You’re an Emotional Mess

I needed to trust Him in the things that were troubling me. The fear I was experiencing was intense.

When you are experiencing external circumstances or an internal crisis like I was, you might keenly feel your . . .

• Weakness!
• Vulnerability!

And you might plead with God for a way of escape!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

Grace when You’re an Emotional Mess

Do you struggle in situations with your husband or kids that are causing you to be an emotional mess?

Do you ever deal with impatience, frustration, anger, or irritability towards those you love?

Life isn’t perfect and I didn’t always respond in ways that would have been best. Living a grace-filled Christ-like life is a transformational journey that takes a lifetime.

Most of us haven’t ‘arrived’ the moment we’re saved and we must learn to trust Jesus to live through us rather than continue living in our own strength.

When I was a younger mom, I went through some extremely difficult situations. I was a beyond an emotional mess.

Are you going through a time like that?

It is during times of heartache and hardship that enduring faith is forged

During times like these, we are in a deep pit without a way of escape.

We’re desperate.

An emotional mess managing mom-life in our own strength.

In these times we discover God is our only Rock.

Your only real hope is IN Jesus!

If you’re in a valley, you can’t see your way out because the mountain peaks are so high on either side.

I promise that once you get a little further along your journey, you’ll be able to look back on these times and see them as the sweetest experiences. As mercies in your life.

It was during an extremely difficult time with our daughter that my oldest son, said, “Mom pray!”

I didn’t feel adequate for the situation nor qualified to pray with that level of fervency.

I did pray and prayed hard.

Years later, it’s a precious memory etched forever in my mind

Waiting for God Alone

I was telling you how I woke this morning with a heaviness in my heart and mind.

The more I mulled over past experiences, the more convinced I was that others were talking about me in a ‘bad’ light.

True or not,

Loss of Reputation and Severe Criticism

David in the Bible did!

This morning Proverbs 3:5 was exactly what I needed to read.

I wasn’t trusting God to take care of the situation (exaggerated or not)  I desperately needed to trust God more.

David experienced desperation too.

David knew what it was to be an emotional mess

Read through psalms and you’ll see the transparency of how David expressed himself.

He took a very messy selfie!

David wasn’t afraid to show the mess in his life!

Psalm 62 exposes David’s emotional mess.

David lived during a brutal age and yet although I don’t live in that kind of society, so often I can relate to David.

• He endured tremendous pressure!
• He lived with a continual threat of death!
• He was a fugitive!
• He lived for years leading armies against aggressive nations!
• He dealt with espionage!

Even my most difficult experiences don’t compare with what David went through.

But I can relate to David!

How To Be A Stable Mom

If you’re a daughter of the King of Kings, what the enemy of your soul intensely wants is to defeat you!

He stealthily comes at you to beat you down with

• Discouragement!
• Depression!
• Melancholy!
• Desperation!
• And so many other things!

If he can tempt you to be frustrated, angry, irritable, fearful, and anxious, or cause you to overeat and binge to calm the noise in your soul, he comes out on top.

BUT . . .

This does NOT have to BE!

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10

You need holy defiance against the thief who wants to steal, kill, and destroy you

He wants to steal the blessing of having a RICH and SATISFYING and ABUNDANT LIFE.

Things to remember about the enemy of your soul:

• Our enemy is cunning and dangerous!
• He is a lion-prowling enemy! (2 Peter 5:8)
• He is a defeated enemy!
• He KNOWS he is already defeated!
• He canNOT tempt us with more than we can take! (1 Corinthians 10:13)
• He is forced to flee! (James 4:7)
• Demons tremble! (James 2:19)

“Holy defiance fires us up to resist temptation, reclaim enemy territory, and refuse to curse God in suffering.” Kaitlin Miller (writer at Desiring God)

To be a stable mom it is important to remember all these things about our enemy. Being forgetful is bound to cause you to slip into the mire.

Tips in becoming a stable mom:

• Take your enemy seriously!
• Be alert to his tactics!
• Be on guard to his methods!
• Be sober-minded!

ALSO . . .

• Remember that in Christ you have the power to demolish strongholds! (2 Corinthians 10:4)
• Join the ranks of the winning side! (Romans 16:20)
• And put your hope in Jesus!

Trusting in Your Strength

Lastly, it’s good to be aware of the characteristics of an unstable mom.

That way, you can stop in your tracks and recognize the trap your enemy set out for you.

You are trusting in your ‘own‘ strength when you find yourself . . .

• Cowering in fear!
• Deceived by your enemy’s tactics!
• Fearfully fleeing the battle altogether!
• Assuming defeat!

Remember to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might (Ephesians 6:10-11) instead of running your own life without consulting God.

You consult God through daily reading your Bible and prayer.

You can look the enemy’s already-thwarted schemes squarely in the face, knowing that he has been defeated at the cross!

You can have fearless courage because your faith is in Jesus.

Be confident in your UNDEFEATABLE King because you have invincible armor!

When you’re an emotional mess, the battle is not lost when you turn to Jesus and become transformed by Christ into a stable mom!

Have you been an emotional mess? What tips resonate with you most?

Go deeper with God with the Living Fearlessly Printable Pack!

Let the words of Scripture wash over your soul and fill you with confidence in God’s love for you.