The Momiform: How to Equip for the Day

I am a sight to see at 5:30 am. When I wake up for the day, I stumble out from our bedroom, grab the largest cup of coffee I can, and situate myself on our couch with my Bible and my computer. I read Scripture and write about what God is teaching me while rocking mismatched PJs and disheveled hair. This quiet time in the morning is one of my favorite times of the day.

After my children wake up and breakfast (plus second breakfast) has been served, I sneak away for a moment to change into my clothes for the day. By that I mean, I change out of my sweats from the previous day and put on new sweats. I take out my mom bun from the day before and put my hair into a new mom bun. From the outside looking in, there truly isn’t much of a difference from how I look. But on the inside, I feel like a new person.

I’ve started calling it my Momiform. Just as I would put on my work clothes back when I worked outside of the home, putting on these new, albeit informal, clothes helps shift my perspective into mom mode. I feel ready to handle whatever the day ahead of me has in store.

But no matter how perfect my bun is or how cute my sweats might be, this physical Momiform is the faintest of shadows compared to the real wardrobe change that actually makes the difference.

In the beginning verses of Colossians 3, Paul appeals to believers to set their sights on Christ. This appeal isn’t a one-time decision but requires a daily, intentional, sanctified change in the attributes we chose to wear. Before Christ, we were impure, bound by our passions, covetous, angry, and liars. But we have been redeemed! We’ve been saved from these sins that once enslaved us and are called to “put off the old self with its practices and [to] put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:9-10).

As God works in our lives to strip away all of these former sins he doesn’t just leave us naked and ashamed. He gives us beautiful new clothes to wear as we walk with him in this life:

“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:12-17

These attributes are precious clothing that reminds us and displays to the world how great our God is. They are countercultural. They are counterintuitive. They are also the true uniform that is going to equip us for the good work of motherhood.

When our sights are set on Christ, we can respond to our children’s tantrums with compassion and kindness. When we’ve temporarily put our anger back on, we shed it again and humbly repent to our Savior and in front of our kids, if appropriate. We can practice our patience and bear with the adorable sinners we’ve been blessed with as we point them to Christ. We can forgive our children for their disobedience because we know how much Christ has forgiven us. Love can bind our words and actions together when siblings have been fighting all day. Peace can rule in our hearts when our home is chaotic and everyone is crying. We can be grateful in challenging seasons and we can seek refuge in God’s word. But most importantly, we can approach the work of motherhood, no matter how mundane or trying it may be, knowing that it is an opportunity to glorify the God who brought us here in the first place.

Let us begin our days in prayer, asking God to continuously help us to peel off the clothes of our former selves. Let us thank him for this incredible opportunity to practice putting on these attributes day in and day out. Let us approach each day of motherhood wearing these God-glorifying attributes, ready to tackle whatever God would have us walk through.