Have you heard about the new movie that came out this weekend called “Moms’ Night Out”? I watched the trailer for it a few weeks ago and knew that I had to see it.

So, I got together with several of my mom friends from our homeschool academy, and we had a wild and crazy Moms’ Night Out of our own last night.

Well, it wasn’t really wild and crazy at all, but it was so very fun and meaningful. We saw the “Moms’ Night Out” movie and went to dinner together at a Thai restaurant afterward. I’ve never had Thai food before, so it was neat to try it for the first time.

This was officially my first-ever Moms’ Night Out. Is that unbelievable, or what? I’ve been a mom for over 12 years, and I’ve never had a Moms’ Night Out!

When the kids were little, I was constantly pregnant or breastfeeding, and it was pretty overwhelming just to feed, clothe, and keep everyone alive. On the one hand, it didn’t occur to me to go out without the kids and actually have fun. On the other hand, I didn’t know many moms with whom I could go out.

I’m glad to be in a place in my life where I have relationships with other homeschooling moms, and my kids are old enough that I could leave them with daddy for a few hours and not feel guilty about it. My husband deserves a medal, because he took care of not just our four kids last night but my niece also. And when I got home, everyone was alive. Well, one kid was broken out in hives, and my laptop screen had met its demise, but at least the house was still standing and everyone was breathing. I’d say that was a successful evening with five rambunctious kids! (Seriously, he does very well caring for all of the kids, unlike the dads on the movie.)

So, the premise of the movie is that a desperately stressed homeschooling mom (Isn’t that redundant?) of three, Allyson (Sarah Drew), gets together with a couple of friends for a much-needed moms’ night out. Allyson had been really struggling with feelings of inadequacy in her role as mom and wife. Even though she was living the life that she always dreamed of, she couldn’t understand why she wasn’t “happy.”

The trouble the ladies (and their husbands) get into during the night is utterly hilarious, but in the midst of the chaos comes a beautifully encouraging interchange between Allyson and a biker dude, Bones (Trace Adkins). Bones brings her to tears as he artfully helps her to recognize that she is enough….for her kids, for her husband, for God.

Allyson ends the movie by writing a blog post, “I’m a mess. I’m a beautiful mess, but I’m His masterpiece. And that’s enough.”

Do you ever feel like a mess, moms? Do you ever feel like what you have to give is not enough? Do you ever feel like you’re swirling around in a whirlpool, in danger of being sucked into the abyss? I certainly do. Sometimes my life is simply overwhelming. Sometimes I lose it with my kids, with my husband. Sometimes I just want to quit because things are so hard.

You all know. It’s hard to homeschool four kids. It’s hard to maintain a household—to cook for picky eaters day after day, to clean up after mess-makers, to stretch our budget to make ends meet, to train up my kids in the way they should go when sometimes I don’t even know which way to go. It’s hard being a good wife and keeping peace in my home. It’s hard serving the Lord like I know I should. Life is just hard a lot of the time.

My husband likes to tell me that I’m “living my dream.” And I know that’s true. It’s what I’ve always wanted: to be a wife and homeschooling mom. So like Allyson in the movie, why am I not happy more of the time? Why does life seem like such a struggle?

Allyson’s pastor’s wife reminds her that, “Life is about finding the meaning and the joy and the purpose in all the chaos.” God gave your kids to you. Not to anyone else. He knows that there will be chaos in a household with kids. But He also knows that you are the very best mom for those children, and He will give you everything that you need to raise them. I think at those times when we feel desperate, His grace can fill us to overflowing, and then we are enough.

Happy Mother’s Day, my mom friends! Keep calm and mother on! 🙂