MFP 336: What Would You Say to Your Younger Self? An Interview with Suzanne Bilodeau

God has selected you uniquely to be the mother for these children.  He will equip you for the work He wants you to do! Summary No one feels prepared to be a parent.  Even if you were one of the oldest of 10 kids in a Catholic family (like Alicia or Katie) or a family of 7 (like Suzanne) you can never really be ready!  The key to surviving, and even thriving, is stepping fully into your identity as a daughter of God.  All the love that we have for our spouse and children needs to come from a deep place of confident love from our Heavenly Father.  Listen in to this interview with Suzanne Bilodeau, author of She Loved: Resting in the Beauty of Motherhood, a compilation of letters from older mothers to their younger selves.  In our conversation we talk about actually NOT finding our identity in our motherhood, but in our daughterhood, how fear is a liar, and the importance of compassion for yourself.  Key Takeaways   Fear is a liar.  Satan tells you that you are not enough.  God says - I made you for this moment.  We can be transformed when we recognize that before we are a wife or mommy we are a daughter.  That is foundational. We all need to have compassion for ourselves.  This is a theme found in most of the letters written for She Loved! Don't be a martyr to your motherhood.  Take time for yourself to reconnect with God and others.