I was privileged to interview the #1 most popular parent blogger, Janice of 5 Minutes for Mom. 5 Minutes for Mom, maintained by Janice and her twin sister Susan, focuses on bringing moms the best stuff on the Internet—parenting, blogging, shopping, you name it. She was kind enough to answer a few questions about motherhood, blogging and (of course) fulfillment.
How do you define fulfillment?
I guess I will start here – but it is a tough question…
In essence, my fulfillment – any kind of true fulfillment for me – comes from living out what God has created me to do. So my greatest fulfillment comes first from my relationship with God and my salvation through Christ. That is the foundation for any other forms of fulfillment in my life.
Motherhood and work both bring me fulfillment as I live out particular callings and gifts that I believe God has purposely given me.
I am called to be a mother. I prayed for years to be a mom and now that God has blessed me with motherhood, I believe I must treasure and respect that calling. It brings me the greatest joy that I have felt here on earth. The intense love I have for my son allows me to understand more fully how powerfully God loves us, His children.
As for my work, I also believe that God has given me certain gifts and goals. While I need to be careful that I do not put these in front of my role as a mother and wife, I feel that they are integral to my personal fulfillment and the fulfillment of my callings.
How does the fulfillment you find through work differ from that which you find through motherhood?
I am sure every mother would agree that they wouldn’t trade anything for the incredible gift of being a mother. Nothing can touch the joy of loving and raising a child.
But as I am sure most mothers would admit, motherhood is the toughest job out there and some days it is enough to drive a woman crazy!
After a miscarriage, I found I needed to get back to my creative side and start writing again. I love my son desperately, but I needed a distraction from “waiting” to get pregnant again. The daily routines of mothering were not doing it for me! Spiritually and emotionally I needed to write and work. I needed to use my creative gifts. I needed an outlet.
From that place, came our blog. It “saved” me in so many ways from the grief of losing my baby and the months and months of wondering if I was ever going to have another child. That tangible effort – the creation of something – brought me a new form of fulfillment. No it isn’t as powerful as motherhood or as important as my relationship to God, but it is a part of my life for which I am so grateful.
Thanks, Janice. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions, and I really appreciate your thoughts and your testimony of fulfillment in motherhood.
To read more of Janice’s (and her sister Susan’s equally good) thoughts, head on over to 5 Minutes for Mom. Oh, and did I mention that they were ranked #1 on the Popular Parent Bloggers. Yeah, they’re good.