Two years ago, I had a tiny infant and the days blended together. Some days, my husband Corey would come home and I wouldn’t have ever showered. Even worse, most days I would still be in the same bathrobe with spit up on each shoulder, the same as when he had left me ten hours earlier. When he’d sweetly ask, “What did you do today?” I’d want to cry because I couldn’t answer with any sort of answer that made sense. I was used to having a check list, working through it and having things accomplished. All I had accomplished in those early days was that Caroline was fed, changed and still alive when he got home. I’d go to bed exhausted and wake up exhausted. It was a routine that started to be the norm until a friend invited me to MOPS. Though I had heard of MOPS I really didn’t know what it was. Figuring it was a Mommy & Me group I headed off to my first meeting just to get out of the house. What I was about to find was an organization and group of women that would change my life forever.
MOPS is far from a Mommy & Me group. While our children are lovingly cared for, the moms meet and are encouraged to be better moms. We get 2 1/2 blissful, child-free hours to talk to one another without a little hand tugging on our pant leg. We share a delicious potluck brunch and hear from amazing speakers on a variety of topics to enrich, encourage and renew us as moms and wives. Who knew something like this existed! I had died and gone to heaven and could feel the confusion of those first few weeks start to lift away. What I didn’t know was that it was just the beginning of an amazing journey.
As each meeting ended, I could hardly wait the two weeks in between so the next one could arrive. Each meeting I would hear a new tip or trick to make mothering more manageable. I got to know the other moms and have made lifelong friends. One of those friends, Paula Tkach, invited me to come to church with her. I hadn’t really attended church since I was a kid and didn’t have a strong faith. I relied on myself to navigate life in this crazy world. I had never really known anything else. Corey had a similar story and even though we’d talked about wanting to find a church and to make sure Caroline had a strong spiritual foundation we just hadn’t done anything about it. That invitation opened a new door and chapter in our lives. We grew as a couple and learned that the Lord was always there for us. As we were hit with all sorts of challenges – Corey’s job-loss scare, me quitting my job to stay home with Caroline and starting a new home-based business, the passing of my grandmother, ill parents, becoming the caregiver to those parents - our new-found faith carried us through as well as the support of all the wonderful friends we’d made through MOPS and the church.
I’m a much more confident mom now. I’m continually learning, but I don’t feel completely overwhelmed and can accomplish tasks on my To Do list. I attribute so much of my growth as a mom to MOPS. Our family attends church each Sunday, I coordinate the meals for those who need them in our Sunday school class, Corey participates in FIT (Fathers In Training – the dad’s version of MOPS), as a couple we participate in the ALPHA course and I serve as one of the childcare liaisons for MOPS. If you had told me two years ago this is where we would be today, I never would have believed it.
The reason I shared the above story was to paint a picture of how MOPS has transformed my life, but I’m not the only one. There are thousands of moms around the world who benefit from MOPS each year, 130 specifically through MOPS here at LAC. Our challenges as moms are different than our mothers’. We’re on the same crazy ride, but for us someone hit the super fast, extreme button. While raising our families we deal with constant distractions from text messages, Facebook, e-mails, the Internet, 24-hour cable news and trying to figure out how to keep our children safe and protected from all of it. We have expenses that young families didn’t have 15 or 20 years ago – cell phones, internet and cable bills to name a few. While none of these things are “necessary” for our survival, society has made it necessary to be plugged in so we can compete. MOPS is a calm place to recharge our batteries so we can make it another day in this fast-paced, technology driven world.
I want to make sure MOPS is accessible and affordable to any mom who wants to attend. We offer scholarships to moms who otherwise couldn’t afford MOPS. And to help keep MOPS affordable in general we have to raise money to offset the difference between our actual costs and what’s brought in through membership dues. One of our largest expenses is the childcare. We have paid staff, but our volunteers help us offset this enormous expense -- $20,000/year. With this in mind we’re reaching out to those who might be interested in helping. If you have a heart for young children we’d love for you to consider assisting with childcare.
The time commitment is nominal and the rewards are immeasurable. The reasons our volunteers come are numerous. Some have a heart for teaching the next generation and some just love holding babies. Others love arts and crafts and sharing the Lord, while some have grandchildren far away and like to have the connection with a young person close to home. Some want to ensure that today’s moms are cared and nurtured and can have confidence in leaving their child in order to do so. The reasons are many and you may have your own.
MOPS tagline is “Better moms make a better world”. I truly believe MOPS helped me become a better mom and I invite you to assist us in serving other moms by enriching this ministry in any way you can – financially or by volunteering or both.
For more information contact or 626.817.4552. You can also visit http://mops.lakeave.org or http://www.mops.org.
One Mother’s Journey to MOPS
