More Than Enough

So, I will admit that I'm lazy when it comes to socks (well, not only socks, but that's all I'm admitting to at the moment). Often, when I'm trying to quickly get a load of laundry put away, I'll end up with socks at the bottom of the basket who don't have their partner. This caused me to start a pile for those unmatched socks.

Fast forward, that happens many times, until I have a huge pile of unmatched socks and no sock pairs in my sock drawer. Rushing out the door, I will admit to grabbing two unmatched socks that are "close enough" (i.e. both roughly the same color) to wear for the day. This, of course, only continues the problem because these unmatched socks are then washed in the same load and end right back up in the pile.

Today, while my baby was taking a much-needed nap (obviously needed, if the nap was long enough for me to get to this task!), my husband and I finally attacked the sock pile. Amazingly, after all those miscellaneous loads of laundry contributed their single socks, many pairs were found.

There is a point to this story...and here it is:

If you'd asked me yesterday if I needed new socks, I would have answered, "Yes! I never have enough socks. It's so frustrating every time I get dressed."

And now, after just a small effort, my sock drawer contains more than enough.

How many times does this happen in life? (and not just with other types of laundry...or maybe silverware...)

How often do we tell ourselves that we don't have enough ________ (fill in the blank: courage, strength, energy, time, etc.) when we just aren't looking in the right places? It didn't take that much work for us to match up those pairs and find out how many we really had.

I think this applies to expecting women--particularly those desiring a natural birth. Have you ever heard, "Natural birth is great, but I'm just not _________ enough." Or, "I think that's neat that some women do that, but I could never because I'm ____________."

For most of those women, they absolutely have everything they need. Women's bodies were made to grow and birth babies! Our bodies are incredible! They have the ability, the strength, the courage, the endurance, the love, etc. Sometimes, a woman just might not realize that she has what she needs. It might take a little work to help her realize that she has more than enough.

The challenge is to figure out what are we missing, and what work will it require to get us to where we want to be. I see this transformation happening as women (and couples) gain knowledge about birth and their bodies as they attend Brio Birth classes- they realize that they do have more than enough to give birth in a way they desire.

My mind is geared towards birth at the moment, but I know this situation could apply in so many other ways. I hope the next time I try to limit myself by saying that I'm not _________enough, I'll be willing to put in the work to find out that I do have what it takes.

At the end of our sock-matching party, were all the socks matched? Nope! There was still a small pile, but that's okay. We are better for the work we put in, and our drawers are full! Sometimes life is like that, too--we put in all this work to plan our "perfect birth" and afterwards, there are a few things we'd do differently. And that's okay.

What are you willing to find out about yourself? What work will it take? If you've already tried, what will you improve for next time?

I'm optimistic. I'm going to keep those unmatched socks a while longer...maybe they'll make it into the drawer next time.