MOPS and Wonder

I believe in communities.  There is joy to be found when you find a group of people who are facing the same challenges as you.  I am a joiner, if you can't tell already. 

When Leo was a baby, I started going to a new mom group put on through the local hospital.  All new moms with young babies, we'd lay out blankets on the floor and sit together and talk about what it's like to be a new mom and all the concerns and joys that go with that first year.  Because of that group, I felt like an empowered mom and met so many wonderful people.

When we moved to our new area a couple of years ago, I was looking for a new group to join.  I tried some out and I just never really fit in.  We faithfully tried but it just never worked.  Last November I joined a MOPS group, Mothers of Preschoolers.  It's an international group but the local chapter is hosted at a Baptist church. 

I remember the first meeting I walked into.  There were 35 people and I was nervous (and not just because Amy was so sad to be dropped off at her class) to walk into a place where I knew no one.  I sat down at my new table and felt immediately welcomed.  Everyone was so kind and immediately accepting.  I can honestly say that it has changed my whole world here.  As a mom, I feel like I give so much but there aren't always things that fill me up.  From my very first meeting, I felt supported, encouraged and uplifted.  It's been an incredible community to be involved with. 

MOPS table from last year

Today was our first official meeting of the new session.  I didn't walk into a room full of strangers and I wasn't nervous.  I did meet some new people, but I looked around and saw many friends.  Amy said in the car ride over, "I get to go with mama."  She went right into her class happy, which is a huge deal and I even won the raffle prize.  It was such a great day.  I can't wait to see what the new year will bring.

A couple weeks ago I got the packet in the mail from MOPS International about our new theme this year.  It's "We are starry eyed."  I read the packet and was really touched by the message.  Here's a link to more about the theme http://www.mops.org/theme/.  Scroll to the bottom and watch the video.  It's so neat. 


I loved this line: "Sometimes we think we have to pick one, when in reality it is always both. Light and dark, hope and fear, kindness and risk, wonder and mundane."  I often get to the end of a day and focus on the things that went wrong.  I hosted a camp recently for girls in our ward and did so much work, the girls had a great time but the t-shirts I ordered were too big.  I couldn't relish in accomplishing so much because all I could think was that the shirts were too big.  Life is filled with good and bad all the time.  If I dwell on the things that went wrong, I can't find joy in what went right.  I want to embrace the dark and the light together and find the wonder in it all.