The Mom of Legend

“I heard she had five kids and lived in a house with no dishwasher.”

“I heard she had seven kids and lived in a house with no dishwasher and ran her own business from home.”

“I heard she had ten kids, lived in a house with no dishwasher, ran her own business from home, and somehow found the time to write!” Every woman standing around Lynn rolled her eyes.

“Oh, come on. Nobody could do all that.”

“No, really, I heard she could,” Lynn said. The women standing in the small clique dispersed around the room. Similar conversations were happening all over the church basement as the Greater Grand Rapids Area Small-town Church Women’s Bible Study waited for their special guest to arrive.

The Greater Grand Rapids Area Small-town Church Women’s Bible Study Leader walked up to the podium. She tucked her perfectly cropped brown hair behind her ears. Her brightly colored earrings shimmered as they caught the florescent light.

“I know you’ve all heard a lot of strange things today,” she said, “but you can’t believe everything you hear. Let’s not get carried away. It’s not every day a woman from the past can come visit us in the future to tell us about her life. Let’s hear what she has to say before we start telling each other tall tales.” The room fell silent as the women took their seats. Lynn found a spot in the back and pulled out her notebook and pen. She wrote the date at the top of the page: January 30, 2095. Lynn preferred the old-fashioned way of taking notes; most of the women in the group put on their computer-linked glasses to record the lecture and transcript in real-time.

The red curtain behind the podium rustled. Every woman leaned forward in her seat. The Mom of Legend stepped out from behind the curtain and glided up to the podium. Her cheery blue eyes sparkled.

“Thank you for coming today,” said the Greater Grand Rapids Area Small-town Church Women’s Bible Study Leader.

“Oh, I’m happy to be here,” The Mom of Legend replied. “I’ve never time-traveled before—it’s quite a rush. You can just call me Susie.” She smiled at all the women awaiting her wise words.

“I have ten kids, live in a house with no dishwasher, run a business from home, and do some occasional writing.” All the women in the room gasped, except Lynn. She smirked—just a little—and positioned her pen to keep writing.

“Women have been trying to have it all since Eve ate that fruit thousands of years ago, but God made us with limitations. I can do the legendary mom things I do because I say ‘no’ to other things.  Rest in those God-given limitations and rest in Him and moms, you’ll be okay—no matter how many children you have or how many dishwashers you lack.”