Just.

It’s a word that has its place.

For example: I just had a salad for dinner, so I’m still hungry.

It suggests only, or small, or weak. It suggests lacking.

And so I’m finding myself a little confused as to why it has been circling around my heart lately, hitching a ride in conversations I’m having with friends over coffee, or online, in the expression: I’m just a mom.

The wonderful Jenny from At the Crossroads touched on this concept in a recent post, talking about how mommy is a verb.

She is right. A mom is active. A mom is passionate. A mom is busy. A mom is chaos and a mom is beauty. A mom is not something to be taken lightly.

And a mom is certainly not just anything.

I’m not even going to get into all of the (now cliche) roles that motherhood takes on- taxi driver, housekeeper, personal chef, dry cleaner, nurse, etc, etc and on and on.

A mom just carries the emotional weight of her family on her heart.

A mom just worries and prays and cares.

A mom just builds a home where her family feels safe and their needs are met.

A mom is just the most important and influential person in her child’s lives.

(And her children are just the future of this world.)

So you can just pack that little four letter word up and bring it back to the salad bar, thank you very much.

And while I’m at it, let’s just stop using that word as though we are apologizing for any of our efforts. Moms and not moms, men and women, everyone. Be who you are, accept who you are and live as who. you. are.

Jesus Christ himself was humbled before men, even to death on a cross, but I don’t recall seeing the words Oh, I’m just the son of God in any red letters. Something tells me he knew better than to suggest his creation, even in human form, was lacking.

And me? I’m just a child of God.

And you are just a child of God too.

And this, this is just a blog post – not a magazine article, and not something that too many folks will ever even read. But they are my thoughts.

Even as just a mom.