Making Mom Friends
Whatever season of motherhood you’re in, being a mom is often lonely. Whether you’re a new mom trying to figure out nursing and nap time or a momma in those busy middle years, driving carpool and juggling work, school, and the demands of home. Maybe your kids are older now and the support network you had as a young mom seems to have evaporated. Loneliness is often a fact in this season of life, so here are a few ideas to help you out. Make the first move! Text a friend and set up a casual play date with the kids or a kid-free lunch if your children are older. Don’t do what we are all guilty of by saying, “we should get together soon!” Text a specific date and get that meeting on the calendar. Be okay if something comes up and they cancel – that happens a lot in this season of kids and conflicting priorities - and keep on trying! Look around and see if there is anyone in your life that could use a helping hand – then see how you can be a friend to them. This helps take your focus off your loneliness and gets you thinking about someone else.
Look around for a group of moms to join, and if you can’t find what you’re looking for, start your own group! There are so many options these days. Whether it’s a work-out group (there are even work-out classes based around using your stroller now) or a MOPS group or of course, a Birds on a Wire group. I love how BOAW groups often start in a neighborhood. A mom may not be interested in coming to church with you, but they will often come to a moms group. I’ve had groups with several ethnicities represented and moms from all different walks of life. There were un-churched women, women who were leaders in their churches, and women with Muslim and Hindu backgrounds, but all of them had two things in common: they were mommas and they wanted to be in community. A few groups even branched off from that group and some of those women are now in church for the first time ever! How incredible would it be to be a part of a story like that in your community?
Finally, pray and ask God to bring you a friend! Be specific. Ask God for a friend with kids your kids’ ages, or for a single mom friend or a friend who lives nearby. God delights to hear our prayers and He delights in giving us good gifts. Take heart mommas, this may be a lonely season, but your heavenly Father will never leave you alone.