MEET CHRISTINE ROBERTS!

Christine Roberts is a Regional Director of Leadership Development with The John Maxwell Company. She is a speaker; author of a book called Inspirational Mind Food and writes a column in My Forsyth magazine. She has been a Mentor for over three years with the Mentor Me North Georgia (formerly Big Brothers/Big Sisters) and is a regular speaker through the Kick It Up program at the middle and high schools in Forsyth County. She is a wife and a mother of two children; her passion is encouraging others, especially young people, to be the best they can be to reach their maximum potential.

Maternal was not a word I would have used to describe myself, and if you asked my friends they would have said the same. In fact, there is evidence to validate this point; it’s a photo of me holding my girlfriend’s baby girl at her baptism, the look on my face is a combination of fear and anxiety. I might as well have been holding a grenade. That squiggly little person scared that heck out of me! Standing in a board room presenting the latest sales trends was way more comfortable.

Now don’t get me wrong, I always liked children — but only if they could speak, and my thought was, please don’t ask me to hold one.

Being a mom was not on my radar.

Then I met my sweet husband. Finding the right man definitely impacts the inputs to considering motherhood…although I have to say that having babies still was not high on my priority list. Mark and I married when I was in my early 30’s, and shortly after our nuptials, I started a two-year Executive MBA program while working full-time. One of the components of the curriculum was international business which took us to Singapore and Bangkok. We met with companies such as Coca Cola of Thailand, UPS logistics in Singapore among others. I loved, loved, loved what I was learning and doing in all areas of my life.

Although, time was ticking and my biological clock was running down. As one of my friends put it “there wasn’t that many shopping days till Christmas.” If I was going to have children, I needed to make it happen. Can you tell I’m a bit goal driven?

I knew it was now-or-possibly-never, but honestly I had so much more I wanted to accomplish before having children. Frankly, my logical brain determined to have children for primarily two reasons: 1) because I thought my husband would be an amazing father, and 2) because I needed someone to take care of me when I get old.

I know, I know, that sounds so terrible. Please don’t judge me.

Then everything changed! My sweet baby boy, Carson, was born. I think God has had a lot of fun with me. Sometimes our Lord has quite a sense of humor. When Carson was born and I looked into that precious little miracle’s eyes, my heart absolutely melted. I went from avoiding babies like the plague to wanting to hold them like a creepy, stalker lady.

I had taken 12 weeks of maternity leave, and prior to bring that little guy into the world, the thought of being home full-time never occurred to me. And then, my first week back to my corporate job required travel to San Francisco for a week. I went from cringing at the sight of children in the waiting area at the airport to having to put on my big sunglasses to hide my tears. I remember saying to myself “God, what have you done to me?!”

Over the next four months, I was traveling quite a bit and my heart was breaking every time I had to leave. I missed my baby! After much discussion and deliberation, my husband and I made the decision for me to take time off and stay home. Not long after, I became pregnant with our daughter and our lives completely turned upside down financially, emotionally, and physically.

As Johnson and Johnson says “babies change everything.” How true! During the three and a half years that I spent home full-time, I went through so many emotional ups and downs. For any moms out there, I’m sure you can relate. During the season when our children are babies and toddlers, we are in a 24/7 high alert, servant mode. I joke with my friends that I was never so religious until I had children, there were plenty of times I went into my closet, curled up into the fetal position and prayed to God, “please help me, show me how to be a good Mom, give me patience.” Then someone told me to be careful what I pray for because God will give us more chances to grow in those areas, ouch, wish I would have learned that sooner because He did provide me with lots of opportunities for those lessons.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m so thankful and blessed that I could be home with my babies but there was a yearning on my heart. I missed being in the business world, having discussions about projections and strategy. My entire intellectual stimulation was learning all the Wiggles songs and becoming a Sproutlet. I felt really guilty about that, because there were women that I met who were completely content taking care of their home, children and husband.

I thought to myself, “What is my problem! Why can’t I just be thankful and enjoy this blessing?” I longed to feel the way the other moms felt and truly believed that something was wrong with me.

There was much struggle for me emotionally, but my faith in the Lord and knowing that He has made each of us unique with many different gifts and missions to fulfill was my saving grace.

Proverbs 31:28-31 gave me a certain level of peace. It reads,

“Her children arise and call her blessed: her husband also, and he praises her: Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all. Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.”

The woman was praised for all her roles, not just mother or wife, but her role as a worker as well.

This along with many other passages in the Bible gave me strength and peace that what God laid on my heart was in his plan for me, his mission for me. I am so grateful for that contentment. It was only when I was still that I truly realized that it was “ok” to BE who God meant for me to Be. We all have those moments of insecurity, even if we know in our heart that we are doing what He wants us to do.

I currently work with The John Maxwell Company as a Leadership Consultant and am so grateful that I can live out my passion recognizing an appreciating God’s purpose for me.

Always know that God has a plan for you, a mission that he wants you to fulfill and whatever that is, it’s His will and it’s ok, actually necessary, to follow in order to be all that you were created to Be.

We hope you’ve been inspired and blessed by this series, Be Missional and Build, and have been encouraged to keep on the journey God has placed you on…to stop comparing your journey to everyone else’s…and to keep on keeping on. We’d love to hear from you! Leave us a comment and tell us what your mission is, and how God is telling you to build the kingdom for Him right where you are!

Looking for a new small group study? Check out the Be Together Small Group Bible Study on Be Loved and Live. It includes deeper levels of understanding how God wants us to truly love, honest discussion and practical application. Get your copy today!

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