Hey, moms. I'm Durenda Wilson, wife to one, mom to eight, and Nana to six. I'm also the author of

the unhurried homeschooler and unhurried grace for a mom's heart. As an older mom, I'm here

to bring you encouragement as you walk out your incredibly important and high calling as a mom.

I want to be completely honest with you all. I've been struggling, trying to understand what my

place is, what my role is in all that's going on around us. Over the years as a mom at home

with our eight kids, God reminded me over and over again that raising and homeschooling our kids

was my calling. A lot of outside activities,

ministries, politics, and other worthy causes all needed to be laid aside for the most part

because I simply couldn't do it all. Have you ever heard of that saying just just because you can, doesn't mean you should?

It's not that I wasn't capable of doing many of those things, but I knew in my heart that

something would suffer. Most likely my children and the peace in our home. And I simply wasn't

willing to make that sacrifice. One of the reasons

I knew this was because when I thought about involving myself in those other things, I began to feel

burdened. I would ask God if I was missing something or if I was simply weak and just needed to

toughen up. Time and time time again he would say to me,

keep your hand to the plow. If you're not familiar with that term, it's from a verse in the

Bible where Jesus was talking to those who told him that they wanted to follow him, but then

proceeded to tell Jesus what they

needed to go and do first before they followed him. A farmer in this biblical culture guided a light

plow with his left hand and his oxen with his right hand. If he looked away, the plow would

turn from its path. For believers,

looking back is the same as putting earthly concerns before God. As a mom, it was becoming

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