Moms' Night Out.

YES.  PLEASE.

My church recently played the new comedy, Moms' Night Out.  If you haven't seen it, you should.

It's packed with the crazy adventures most of us moms face daily (fear of salmonella, markers all over the walls, kids screaming in your ear then turning on the adorable), plus some unlikely circumstances to up the excitement.

When I sat down to watch this, I figured it was going to be funny (which is an understatement -- it was hilarious, especially being a stay-at-home mom often in need of a night out).  I didn't realize that it was going to be thoughtful, or as thoughtful as it was.  

If you haven't seen it yet, I don't want to ruin it, but I had no idea that so many moms struggle with feelings of unhappiness and inadequacy.  Every minute of the movie (okay -- not the biker gang or losing my baby or having my van stolen... if I had a van... -- but the day to day mommy stuff), I couldn't stop thinking, THIS IS MY LIFE.

Children playing in the toilet, making messes all over the house until it is AWFUL, feeling so unglued that I want to hide in my closet and eat chocolate, yep, the whole bag.  That's me.

And it can't possibly be just me, or nobody would have made a movie about it.  

I was reading in Romans this morning and came across this passage: 

"God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well.  so if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you.  If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well.  If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching.  If your gift is to encourage others, do it!  If you have money, share it generously.  If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously.  And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly." Romans 12:6-8, NLT

So, if my job right now is to clean yogurt off our intricately grooved wooden chairs, change the diapers of my screaming son who is constantly trying to flip over and wriggle away, and bear the bruises of children who consider my body a jungle gym -- in other words, be a mom -- I need to do it well.  And, in fact, I'm the one chosen to do it well, the one God hand-picked for the job.  Only He had control over whom to give these beautiful children to, and He picked me.  Me.

I don't need to worry constantly that I'm doing a horrible job or that someone else would be doing a better job.  Nor do I need to worry what the mom across the street thinks when my daughter drops a marshmallow on the sidewalk and I tell her to pick it up and eat it.  I just need to be me, constantly changing for the better by God's grace, giving my best as a wife and mom every day.