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Today, we’re going to be talking about something that I absolutely know that you can relate to… mom emotions. We all have emotions so let’s talk about how to manage those and how to manage those well with our guest, Mirella Acebo.
Mirella is an Author, Actor, Speaker, Life Coach and Mom (aka Life Coach Mom), married with 2 adult kids. She’s been leading and teaching women in the area of spiritual growth and personal development for over 10 years. She is passionate about help the everyday, busy mom re-discover who she is and gain a fresh perspective about her many roles in life. Mirella’s daily motto in life: Let’s grow as we go, in all seasons of motherhood! Growth is the answer.
Faith-Filled Perspective as a Single Mom
Mirella was raised by a single mom who came to this country from Mexico in her early 20’s. Her mom was born and raised on a farm so there wasn’t much opportunity for education and she only went to school through 6th grade. She had heard the stories of people coming to the US to pursue the American dream, and so that’s what she did. She met a man, got pregnant and because he wasn’t in the picture, she became a single mom. Mirella explains how her mom decided she was going to just be the best mom she could be under those conditions. She has such fond memories of her mom, growing up in a beautiful home but it was a struggle at times. Her mom only spoke Spanish, worked minimum wage jobs, and they lived on food stamps for a while. She remembers her mom had such strong faith and would clearly say to her, “this is temporary. God has given me the ability to work, and I am healthy. We’re going to make it.”
Mirella grew up earlier than her peers and describes herself as a latchkey kid. Mom was off to work before school, she was responsible for making herself lunches, walking herself to school, coming home to an empty apartment, and it all seemed completely normal to her because her mom normalized all of it. Even though there was a difference between her peers and their home lives compared to her own, she felt safe and protected by her mom. Mirella credits the Lord for this. Because when her mom did meet the Lord, that’s when things changed and she became a pillar of strength. Sure, she felt all the emotions…worry, overwhelm, stress inadequate, all the things, but she was able to do it all through her faith in God.
Single motherhood is such a reality for so many moms out there who are working those long, hard hours and trying to provide and protect. But it’s temporary. Even life on this earth is temporary. The setbacks and the struggles that we experience, which often do draw us even closer to the Lord, they’re temporary. If Christ dwells in us, then life here is temporary.
“SOS for the MOM: A Christian Mom’s Guide to Managing Emotions”
Mirella wrote a book, “SOS for the MOM: A Christian Mom’s Guide to Managing Emotions” which initially stemmed from focusing on her mom’s emotions and her own upbringing as a child. But further inspiration was given when her mom passed when Mirella’s kids were young, and she didn’t have her there to help guide her through motherhood. She had to figure it out on her own which came with a lot of emotions between grieving and raising her young children. Mirella wants the book to help encourage younger moms and gives insight into everything you would want to know as a young mom and how to manage your emotions. Each chapter covers a different emotion or a state of mind and also attaches the story of a Bible mom to see what we can learn from them. It shows how faith is so important in our life, in our actions and reactions when our emotions seem so intense.
One of my favorite things about the book is that Mirella includes personal stories and a glimpse into her life, vulnerably sharing about things in her own motherhood along with practical tips like emotional health, taking care of ourselves, and how we all need each other as moms. There are so many great tips that we can implement along with impactful pieces of Scripture.
Look to the Bible for Guidance with Mom Emotions
To the mom who is feeling stuck or overwhelmed or alone, look back at the Bible for guidance with those emotions. When we look at the moms in Scripture, they were likely stuck in some kind of emotions because as moms, we feel intensely. Feelings and emotions aren’t bad, they are gifts from the Lord. But they can be overwhelming and can take control. Well, we need the Lord’s help. In everything, we need to be reminded of who we are as God’s child. He has given us His Holy Spirit and there’s a power within us that is stronger than the emotion that we may feel stuck in. We need to be reminded daily to take those thoughts captive. Whatever it is that’s having you feeling worried and overwhelmed, stressed out or guilty, take those thoughts individually to the Lord, interrupting the loop that happens in your mind. It’s so easy to feed those thoughts of feeling stuck and overwhelmed and attach those to the why and how it’s not going to get better. And before you know it, you’re so stuck in this emotion that it feels like you’re buried by it.
So, practice having a different thought, practice living out the truth of who God says you are. We are more than our feelings; we are more than what we feel. God’s always going to give us a bigger perspective on what we’re feeling. We can so easily get stuck on the details of our life, the daily grind, and God wants to help us zoom out. He’s telling a bigger story through all our lives. And He wants to remind us of the role that we play in this bigger story.
As moms, a lot of times we’re living with the close-up perspective, we’re zooming in on our pain points, because those pain points are there and they’re real. We’re in this for the long game, motherhood is not a sprint, right? It’s a marathon, and so when we’re looking at motherhood, or whatever season we’re in through this close lens, we can feel so defeated. We can just feel so overwhelmed because we’re taking in every detail, every emotion, every feeling, every setback, every obstacle. But let’s zoom out. Let’s look at your life through this wide lens. Let’s get some altitude on what you’re going through or the season that you’re in. God is saying, “Let me remind you, dear child of mine, you belong to me, and I’ve given you my spirit to help you and I’m going to help you grow.” God is inviting us to grow in every season of motherhood, every hardship, every pain point, all of it. There are different challenges in the different seasons of motherhood, but there’s purpose in each of them and God wants to grow us and strengthen our character. And He gives us the courage and leadership skills, and He changes our character, not just our circumstances. Sometimes we need these challenges in order for God to produce fruit in us.
Start Your Day This Way
Here’s a practical thing to try to help start the day right and take a step forward in our motherhood journey: Step outside. Look up and take in what your eyes can see. God made us physical beings, and He created creation. There’s so much beauty around us. Engage your five senses and let yourself wander. Let the Lord guide your thoughts and let your mind drift to whatever He wants to reveal to you about himself as you focus on what you’re seeing. Just start off your day reminding yourself who you are, who’s you are, and what your mission is as a mom.
Mom emotions are something that we’re all dealing with and managing, and I know that each and every one of you want to hear the Lord say, “Well done good and faithful servant. Well done, Mama.” And that’s what we are striving for. Most importantly, as Mirella talked about, focus on growth. That’s where it’s at… one step forward every single day friends.
Connect with Mirella!
- on Instagram @lifecoachingbymirella
- on Youtube Life Coaching by Mirella
- on her website www.MirellaAcebo.com
- Grab a copy of her book, “SOS for the MOM: A Christian Mom’s Guide to Managing Emotions“
