I am thrilled to be giving away a MOPS membership here on my blog today! Why? Because being part of a MOPS group has CHANGED my life. It really has. My first years of motherhood were shaped in so many ways by the women who loved me in MOPS. The skills I gained by leading a group I carry with me into work, mothering and in general as a contributing global citizen.
A few years ago Jill Savage from Hearts at Home asked me to write about a time when MOPS impacted me. Below is what I wrote. It first appeared on the Hearts at Home blog.
I walked into the room exhausted, thankful to have someone else watch my children for a few hours while I just sat. A flurry of activity, the room reflected a typical MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting at my church: women talking, eating, laughing, welcoming each other with hugs, some holding a newborn baby in one arm. The room had an energy of anticipation as moms looked forward to a few hours of uninterrupted adult conversation. All of us needed a break, moms of young kids, who spend our days taking care of the needs of those around us. This was our time twice a month, carved out of our diaper-changing, laundry-folding, baby-rocking lives to be together and focus on what would make us better moms.
Often the visiting speaker would inspire me to try something new with my kids, a fellow mom would give me a helpful tip on a current parenting struggle or a MOPS Mentor would offer some needed been-there-done-that perspective. All things that helped me toward that better mom goal. But on this particular day, what I needed, was not the practical advice or even the warm breakfast prepared by someone else (though I especially appreciated that). What I needed were the knowing looks, the heartfelt greetings and the friends that would let me crumple into their shoulders and let my tears soak their shirts. I needed someone to take care of me.
I was coming off of my second round of days in a hospital waiting room—driving forty-five minutes each way to visit my mother-in-law recovering from surgery and a new and scary cancer diagnosis. This was my “second round” because only weeks earlier, my father-in-law had been at the same hospital with his own cancer diagnosis. My MOPS friends all knew what the last few months had looked like for my family because they had been the ones watching my kids and doing my laundry while I had been in hospital waiting rooms during surgeries and meetings with doctors. They understood my exhaustion and stress, and they offered me a sanctuary of acceptance and support right there in that church multi-purpose room. These were so much more than a group of chatty women, they were God’s arms of love and provision when I needed it most.
At MOPS International we say Better Moms Make a Better World. The support and care moms give each other at MOPS groups around the world is evidence that God moves through mothers to bring a little bit of heaven to earth. I know. I’ve experienced it.
Here is a photo of some my MOPS friends today (10 years after we started in MOPS together.) From the left: Jen, Tracy, me, Kathy, Cindy, Crystal.
To win this MOPS International Membership either leave a comment here or like my facebook page: facebook.com/AlexandraKuykendall.author (or both and you get double chances to win.) Today, September 6th, because I will announce the winner on my facebook page tomorrow.
So tell me, why would YOU like to win this MOPS International Membership?