Dwell Well

My last guest blogger for this week is Monica.  I stumbled across Monica’s blog shortly after I started blogging last year and was instantly hooked.  She and her husband Keith have been married a little longer than Scott and I and we both have three kids around the same ages.    Her love for the Lord, her husband, and her children shines through in each of her posts.  We’ve had the chance to chat back and forth via e-mail and I am certain if she lived in town instead of across the Atlantic, we would certainly enjoy spending time together.   She is an encouragement and inspiration.  You can read about her life as the wife of an Army chaplain and mother of twin girls and an adorable little boy, at Daily Dwelling. 

All Moms Need Support

The most essential tool we can have to succeed as moms is a support system. Having a support system of friends here is what has helped me to survive the tough days during my husband's deployment, both this one and his first deployment.
When Keith deployed to Iraq the first time, our twin girls were only five months old. I didn't live on or near a military base. I lived in a small apartment with them by myself about a 30 minute drive away from his parents and within a few hours drive of my own parents.
Because the girls were born prematurely, the risk and danger of RSV was high, so I really could not leave the house with them.
Keith's mom offered to come watch the girls once a week so that I could get out out the house and have a break. I knew exactly what I needed.....a women's Bible Study where I could connect with other moms. I found one at a local church by looking on their website. I am so very thankful for the relationships that I formed and the friendships I enjoyed during that time. I was able to share my joys and struggles with other women who were also striving to be Godly wives and mothers.
I also learned about the value of online relationships during this time. I found a message board dedicated to supporting parents of multiples, by the publishers of Twins Magazine. Through this venue, I connected with a mother of twin girls who were also born premature for the same reasons that mine were. We discovered that we had much more than that in common and we began e-mailing regularly. I also formed relationships with the other moms whose twins were due during the same birth month as mine were. We also still keep in touch through a private blog.
Fast forward about three years and Keith is deployed again. This time we had three small children when he deployed, two three year olds and a one year old. Once again it is a support system of other moms that are helping me through this time.
Living on a small Army post in Germany, practically everyone here is experiencing the same thing as I. Most women here have husbands who are deployed right along with mine. A lot of them have small children, too. We depend on each other for support, for encouragement, and for practical, everyday help.
Recently, a friend of mine called and asked if I could watch her kids while she went to help another friend. This friend was taking care of her friend's children while she was in the hospital. I know that may have sounded a bit confusing, but I was helping a friend who was helping a friend who was helping a friend in desperate need. It was a classic example of what we do everyday to support one another.
I have also found support through my blog. I have been able to connect with friends and family in the states and I have been able to connect with new friends through this entity called the blogosphere.
I am not necessarily in an especially special situation in needing to have a support system.
All moms need this.
Whether you're an expecting mom, a first-time mom, a working mom, a stay-at-home mom, a homeschooling mom, or an empty-nesting mom, we all need a solid support system of other moms who can support, encourage, motivate, listen, and offer practical help.
We need each other.
And we need to make ourselves available and transparent so that we can reach out to others and allow others to reach out to us in forming the support systems that will get us through whatever season of motherhood we find ourselves in.