This past week is one of my favorite weeks of every year… MOMCON!  The organization that I work for ( The MomCo ) hosts a huge conference every year for moms.  Yes, you read that correctly.  It is a unique setting that caters to placing high value on motherhood and Jesus. It is amazing and thousands of women attend every year.  Everyday is jammed packed with inspiration from gifted main stage speakers, worship music, workshops, networking and just plain fun.

After one of the workshops that I taught, a sweet lady came up to me and said, “ I wish I could be the same woman I am at home as I am here at MOMCON.”  I asked her to clarify for me what she meant by that statement.  She went on to tell me that at the conference she was  open to learning new things. She was actually slowing down and enjoying her food, she was listening intently to what others were saying and she was relaxed and found herself laughing, singing and dancing.  She said she was so uptight at home, always worried she wasn’t doing everything right, that she was robbing herself and her kids from having fun, from learning, from laughing, from experiencing joy. She cried when she thanked me and told me she wasn’t going to waste this mountain top experience.

I have thought a lot about this mom since I got back home. I wonder how she is doing.  Is she making those changes she so desperately wants to make or has she slid back into the daily worries and grind of her mothering routine?

Many of us who are Christians, have experienced that mountain top moment when we attend a conference, a camp. or a special Sunday morning. It is a time when we really encounter God in a deep way.   These moments are amazing and provide us with spiritual growth. I would caution us to not just seek the spiritual high or think we only can encounter God in those types of moments or settings.  We experience God in the valleys or difficult times in our lives too. But, if we are being really honest, most of our days are not the highest of highs or thankfully the lowest of lows.  Most days fall into the category of mundane, a wake up and do it all over again type of day.  Guess what, God is in those days too.  Sometimes we just need to make the effort to look for him.

So now what?  We are home, back to our daily lives.  Normalcy is about to kick in.  The best mountain top experiences will be the ones that can propel us forward and help us find renewal.  I think MOMCON can be a catalyst for this type of transformation.  Here are a few ways to process your experience…

• If you took notes, review them.  What really spoke to you?
• Revisit how you felt.  What was it that made this experience so meaningful for you?
• Ask yourself this question… What from this experience could you incorporate in your everyday life so that you can more frequently encounter God?

I pray for those of you who attended MOMCON. I pray that because of your time spent there you are freed to live with a deeper love for God and a stronger connection for the loved ones in your life and those you will encounter in random places.  All is orchestrated by God, let’s be open to receiving all he has in store for us!