By Julie Arduini
It was an organization that made me feel important and normal. At meetings I was encouraged that my toddler would not graduate in diapers or with a pacifier. As a new mom, we were given refreshments that weren’t first touched by our child’s sticky fingers. We heard powerful speakers who challenged and grew us as wives and moms. We even made crafts that perked up our home and often made life more efficient. I was a MOPS—Mothers of Preschoolers fan before I even realized the extent they were available to their moms, and more than once this organization met me in my deepest valley.
In 2001, they were the first to bring meals for a week after I miscarried. It was such a blessing because I was hurting in every way. I didn’t feel like getting out of bed, but I had a small child to care for. Those meals, their cards, and most of all, their prayers carried me through that horrific first week. It was a dear friend and fellow MOPS mom who met with me to let me grieve. It was a gift of her time and love I will never forget.
By 2003, we had a baby daughter and she was chronically ill. Things were so critical at one point that we nearly lost her due to doctor error. My local MOPS chapter came with meals once again. They let me cry and vent. When some suggested we take legal matters, they didn’t push when we felt that wasn’t what God wanted us to do. And when they sat me down to tell me the doctor’s practice was an upcoming speaker for a meeting, they begged me to stay home. Yet, when I felt again, God wanted me to be there, it was a beautiful moment of public forgiveness we all got to be a part of.
Once we recovered, we then learned we were moving to a state where we knew no one. MOPS was the key ingredient to why I was able to make the move. I made sure there was a chapter in our new area. When I reached out and let them know I was moving there, they called me every week to see how the move was going. My husband was already in Ohio, but I was back in New York trying to sell our house. I was taking care of a sick baby and homeschooling our son. My dad passed away. Those calls from my new MOPS home was a lifeline for me. When I finally made the move to Ohio, they met me the first day there with flowers and meals. There were meals for a week, as well as cards and greetings. They continued to reach out as we got used to the area and placed our daughter with specialists and therapies.
MOPS was the one constant in my life when everything else felt out of control. Although I have now “aged out” with my kids long out of pre school age, I was honored to serve as a mentor mom and remain a cheerleader for the moms I stay in contact with.
If you are a mom with a newborn through kindergarten age child or children, I hope you visit http://mops.org and find a group near you. As the website states, check out the grassroots movement that believes moms are world influencers.
Julie Arduini loves to encourage readers to surrender the good, the bad, and —maybe one day—the chocolate. She’s the author of the re-release, ENTRUSTED: Surrendering the Present, as well as the sequel, ENTANGLED: Surrendering the Past. She also shared her story in the infertility devotional, A WALK IN THE VALLEY. She blogs every other Wednesday for Christians Read. She resides in Ohio with her husband and two children. Learn more by visiting her at http://juliearduini.com, where she invites readers to subscribe to her monthly newsletter full of resources and giveaway opportunities at JULIE ARDUINI: SURRENDER ISSUES AND CHOCOLATE and the weekly e mail. SUNDAY’S SURRENDER AND CHOCOLATE.
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Entangled: Surrendering the Past
Book #2, Surrendering Time Series
“You need to leave me alone. It’s the least you can do.”
Carla Rowling has been given her dream of attending cosmetology school. The gift is so generous she feels unworthy because of choices she made as a teen. The pressure mounts as Carla juggles school, is a single mom, helps her best friend Jenna plan her wedding, spends time with boyfriend Will Marshall, and deals with the fact that her son’s father is back in their lives.
Will Marshall is the one Speculator Falls resident everyone can count on. His truck deliveries are reliable. He’s the first to help friends like Ben Regan with boat work or be a card partner with Bart Davis. Will’s ready to settle down with Carla, loving her is natural. He’s bonded with her son, Noah. But when Carla starts cosmetology school, she puts emotional distance between her and Will.
Can Carla release her past and create a future full of highlights, or, will she burn her options worse than a bad perm?
Purchase Link: Amazon (Kindle and Print): http://www.amazon.com/Entangled-Surrendering-Past-Time/dp/0692713476/
Entangled is book #2. Although it can standalone, if you’d like to read Entrusted: Surrendering the Present first, click here: https://www.amazon.com/Entrusted-Surrendering-Present-Time/dp/0692709177/
I was a MOPs volunteer for a year or two – long after my child was a preschooler. Those ladies had a great time!
Sandra, it was such an oasis for me. Those volunteers are precious. MOPS is the best! Thanks for reading, Sandra!
Jennifer, thank you for allowing me to share today. I hope some moms discover and seek out MOPS today!