Something happened a few months ago. I can’t fully explain it, but it pretty much went down like this: I suddenly started caring way more about what other people think. I’d love to say I have always been someone who lets things roll off my shoulders, but unfortunately, that would be a lie. I lived most of my life really caring, as in it really mattered to me what others thought about me. And then somewhere along the way, by the grace of God and God alone, I stopped caring so much. It was a good thing. I suddenly realized that the opinions of others don’t define me. And with that, I realized that life is too short to worry what other people think. And while I still allowed others to have a voice in my life, I held tight to that truth- that the opinions of others don’t define me.
But then, without warning, that detrimental people pleasing spirit snuck up from behind. No warning. Nothing. Just like that, I was my old people pleasing, people fearing self. I no longer believed that the opinions of others don’t define me….
If I have learned anything since becoming a mom, it is that there are million right ways to parent. And if I have learned anything else since becoming a mom, it is that most moms believe with confidence that their way is the number one right way. And since learning these things as a mom, I have had to learn what it looks like to embrace my authority as a parent. It is a process, and I am learning constantly, but I realize a little bit more every day that it comes down to this: my kid, my rules.
