Somewhere deep inside of us most mothers realize we aren’t the only imperfect moms on the face of the planet. Maybe there are others who leave dishes undone in order to cuddle little ones, who snap, who struggle, who wonder if there’s more than this. Even while we suspect this to be the truth, there’s this niggling doubt that everyone does a better job, and that somehow we’re failing. As I read celebrated author Tricia Goyer’s breezy spiritual reflections on motherhood – Blue Like Play Dough — I felt like I was sitting down and sharing from the heart with a bosom friend, one who seeks God’s best for her family, while still struggling through the molding process of motherhood.
From these early words in the opening chapter, I knew I was in for a treat.
"It’s not as if God says, 'I was going to visit you today, but I think I’ll wait until you balance that checkbook, clean out your fridge, and start that Bible study you’ve been meaning to get around to.' God’s not like that. He walked with dirty, smelly shepherds and hung out with jailed prophets, so I don’t think my waist-high laundry pile is going to scare Him off."
It was only a few pages in when I discovered a gentle smile on my face as I read, nodding, laughing, and crying. Goyer draws out the transcendent beauty found in the trails of motherhood as God uses our parenting journey to sanctify us, change us, and make us look more like Jesus. Drawing deeply from her well of personal failings, shortcomings, and challenges, Goyer opens her heart with a deep, careful vulnerability in order to explore how the trials of motherhood have demonstrated God’s goodness, and drawn her closer to Him.
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