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On Motherhood

July 5, 2025 Maggie Getz

I thought I was becoming a stay-at-home mom to help my kids. But really, God was leading me into stay-at-home motherhood to help me.

Charles and I got married in June of 2018. (You can read more about our dating here, and how I knew he was my future husband here.) Come August of that year, still fresh from our honeymoon in Snowmass, Colorado, we had moved into our new apartment in Nashville, he started a new job, and – I remember the day like it was yesterday – we found out I was expecting. Cue mic drop.  

We were excited and, of course, a bit nervous, too. As my belly began to grow, I felt like I would want to quit my job outside the home to work as a mom.

Once I held my baby boy, I knew I wanted to stop working at my corporate job to be his primary caretaker. I had prayed about this decision. My husband and I both had. I truly felt called to this new role. 

What do I mean by feeling called? Well, Merriam-Webster puts it this way:

call·​ing (n): a strong inner impulse toward a particular course of action, especially when accompanied by conviction of divine influence

I felt convicted by divine influence. God made it clear what I should do, and He united Charles and I in that. That has been super important because it’s allowed me to stay the course when things are hard. Because even though I made this choice, I still have hard days. I still have times when the kids aren’t listening to me (they’re six, three, and one, after all) when I remember my old work, my paycheck. I think that’s very normal. I used to have frustrations in my 9-to-5 job, too. 

Yet I feel confident this is the right spot for me, even if only for a season. I have one child in school now, and things might look different when all three are in school. Like we strive to do with each part of our lives, we are taking it one day, one step at a time, trying to be faithful to Jesus and surrender it to Him. We trust He will continue to make our steps clear. 

I’m a working mother but I do not get paid. I do not work outside the home. That said, I don’t usually use the term “stay-at-home mom” because I like to be out of the home whenever possible. I’m in car drop-off and pickup lines, in grocery stores, at the library, at the park, taking my kids to the museum or the zoo or a local trail, I’m at church, I’m meeting up with friends and having playdates, I’m at the pool or splash pad, going to appointments, volunteering at school events. You get the picture. 

At one point, I would instead say I’m a “full-time mom,” but I’ve recently learned that term is a divisive one. So when someone asks what I do? I tell them plainly, I am a mom. And after six years of this role, I finally feel at peace with that. I don’t need to justify my job by saying “Well, I used to be a writer and work in communications.” Or “I sometimes freelance.” Or even, “I’m very busy with XYZ at church.” 

In my pride, I would want to tell people about the job I once had, the cool things I’ve done in my career, and the education I received before I became a mom. I thought that was important. I thought I was giving up everything I worked so hard for when I decided to work as a mom. Sure, I have given things up. I have sacrificed. But each sacrifice has been worth it. It’s shown me more of who God is and how He’s made the ultimate sacrifice for me. 

My perspective has completely shifted on this because in reality, I was – and am – becoming more of who God created me to be. A daughter of the King, with my identity firmly in Him, not in anything I do and not in how successful I believe I am as a mother. My identity is secure. 

He’s the one writing my story, ordaining each chapter along the way. I’m not “throwing away” the life I used to have or the achievements I once valued so much. I’m simply attempting to set aside my earthly treasures for a life in His Kingdom, done His way, instead.

You see, I thought I was becoming a stay-at-home mom to help my kids. But really, God was leading me into stay-at-home motherhood to help me.

He’s used motherhood to reveal my anger, impatience, fear, anxiety, desire for approval, and desire for control. And no, I don’t think I’m being too hard on myself here. Rather, I recognize that I’m a sinner, and my sin is what sent Christ to the cross. I can do nothing apart from Him. Nothing. I cannot fix myself or force myself to be a “better person.” Jesus, and Jesus alone, through the cross and resurrection, can change me. 

He rose again, defeated death and the grave, and he now offers me life forever with Him – and new life here on this earth! That’s what we call the Gospel, the Good News. Jesus made a way back to God on my behalf. As a broken human, I couldn’t do it on my own. As the perfect God-man, Jesus could (and did). 

I used to think about this more in terms of having my eternal home with God in heaven one day. Being a part of His kingdom. When we confess Him as Lord and Savior, He guarantees this. (Romans 10:9) We don’t have to do certain works for it. Aren’t you glad of that? 

But He’s also bringing His kingdom here, now. We get to be a part of it! 

He is changing me every day. He is refining me and showing me how to die to myself. This is a continual process. Some days I feel His presence and His power more than others, and some days I quite frankly just feel my mess. Yet, He who has promised is faithful. He already knew all my mess when he went to the cross. It’s the reason He came. 

I’ve had people say to me things like, Oh I could never have three kids like you because I’m too controlling/anxious/overwhelmed. 

I gently respond: Same, girl! 

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
— 2 Peter 1:3

I’m too controlling, anxiety-prone, and easily overwhelmed to have any kids at all. The only reason I can and do is by the grace of God. He gives me the strength I need while chipping away at my defects of character slowly but surely.

And I have to keep giving it over to Him. God can do anything. Nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). He asks me to get up and walk, too. So, I’ve been through a lot of counseling and am a big proponent of it. I’m actively involved in Celebrate Recovery and am currently working through the eight principles of recovery with my accountability partners. I’ve also just started going through The Emotionally Healthy Woman study with a group of women from church. I firmly believe we can all benefit from counseling and recovery work. God can do miracles, and He invites us to be a participant in them. 

I just want to keep living for Him and His purpose, shedding the worries of this world, releasing expectations, and letting Him do what He wants to do. I feel more free now than I think I ever have. As John 8:36 says, “Who the Son sets free is free indeed.”

While I get to impact my kids each day through my time at home with them, I think what’s happening even more is that God is impacting me. I thought I was going to change them – yet God knew all along He was going to change me. 

❤️

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From the Archives: Called and Qualified

February 5, 2021 Maggie Getz
called qualified maggie getz

Today I’m sharing a post from March 2019. Looking back on my journals and my God stories reminds me of His total faithfulness, particularly in seasons of doubt and fear. I hope this content blesses you today!

Today I am 37 weeks pregnant. Baby boy is about six pounds, the size of a honeydew melon, and it’s virtually impossible for me to think about anything other than him. I am working full-time, but whenever I have a free second, I am thinking about him. What will he look like? What will he smell like? How will he sleep? Will he be blonde or brunette (or have no hair at all)? What kind of boy will he grow into? What kind of mom and dad will we be?

I’m not afraid of being a mom—I’m beyond excited and know God has been preparing me for this for months. But the whole birthing process is still quite scary and overwhelming for me. I wrote early this year about my fear and how I experienced an anxiety attack around Christmas time. I truly think that panic was God's way of waking me up to challenge this fear.

A couple days ago, I said to my husband that I've been fearful my whole life. As long as I can remember, even as a child, I've had fear. Fear of giving a presentation at school, fear of the big test, fear of roller coasters, fear of sleepover parties, fear of being left out during a slow song at the school dance. And eventually fear of not being perfect and not measuring up to my own unreasonable standards, which contributed to my struggle with anorexia.

The fear has been with me. I know I must have had moments during my childhood where I confidently pursued my dreams and didn't think twice about doing so. A childlike faith, courage, and innocence. I don't believe we are born feeling fearful, but I can't pinpoint a time when fear first crept into my life. It doesn't make sense. My family always loved me and encouraged me. Life was good. So why did fear still overwhelm me? Why was fear this continual thread in my life?

The day after I shared this with my husband, I thought, Well, wait a minute. I've also done a bunch of things in my life that I was initially afraid to do.

In the eighth grade, I tried out for my school’s play for the first time, and I ended up being cast as Dorothy in our production of The Wizard of Oz. Terrifying yet so fun.

I took a trip abroad with my Spanish class the summer before my senior year of college. I cried in the car on the way to the airport because I was already homesick, but 10 days later, I was having so much fun that didn't want to come home.

I decided to go to college six hours away from my family, at a school where I knew no one.

And then I recognized when I needed help, needed to leave college, and needed to get treatment for my eating disorder. One of the most difficult things I've ever had to do.

Post-college, I moved to a Pennsylvania town of 10,000 for a magazine internship. It was there God gave me a newfound interest for his Word and Biblical community.

I moved to New York City to pursue a career in journalism and ultimately pursued a relationship with Jesus. In 2015, I was baptized and shared my testimony as an adult with my church.

Sensing a new call on my life from God, I relocated to Nashville for the man I love and a job in full-time ministry—even though I had only been to Nashville once before and never worked in ministry.

And I started this blog, sharing my story and trusting that’s what God wants me to do.

I thought of all these experiences, and I saw God's faithfulness. Anytime I felt afraid and unsure, God was there for me.

I also remembered the countless men and women throughout the Bible who God used when they felt inadequate. He turned to people who seemed totally unqualified by cultural standards: Moses, Joseph, Daniel, Mary, the bleeding woman, Matthew, Peter. I read a quote somewhere about these men and women of the Bible that rang so true for me: God doesn't call the qualified; He qualifies the called.

“Then Moses said to the LORD, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.””

— Exodus 4:10

“But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.””

— Exodus 4:13

Moses repeatedly told the Lord to choose someone else to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land, and God kept reminding Moses that he was made for the journey.

Then we have Joseph—a young man sold into slavery by his brothers. He is wrongfully put in prison but eventually becomes ruler of Egypt—and his line of descendants leads to our Messiah, Jesus. Joseph is an unlikely hero. He looked completely unfit to rule Egypt or bring glory to God, but that’s exactly what he did. God qualified him. God didn’t care about how he looked socially or culturally; He cared about Joseph’s heart.

Stories of redemption like this are scattered all over the Bible.

Perhaps the most well-known is that of Mary, the 15-year-old girl chosen by the Father to be Jesus’ mother. She has a choice in the matter, and she boldly steps forward in obedience. Look at what happens in Luke 1 when the angel of the Lord visits her:

“The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.”

Mary is greatly troubled. Can you imagine what she felt learning this news? This was not 2019; this was a time when Mary could have been disowned for a child born outside of marriage. Not to mention, she’s only 15 years old. Yet she steps forward in faith. She trusts God, and she doesn’t let fear hold her back.

One of my favorite biblical stories is that of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego in the book of Daniel. These boys refuse to worship the king of Babylon, and in doing so, are sent to the fiery furnace to burn alive. Daniel 6 describes how the furnace is so hot that the soldiers who brought these boys to it immediately die. Except the boys don’t die when thrown into the fire. They walk around in the fire with God at their side.

““Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.””

— Daniel 3:25b

They risked their lives in order to serve God, and they are delivered from the fire. What stands out the most to me in this story is how God not only rescues them, but He walks with them through the trial. This is truth that I need to cling to. I need to remember this on a daily basis. God walks with us through fear, anxiety, pain, and suffering. He is still good, no matter what we are feeling or experiencing.

So does birth scare me? Yes.

Will it be worth it? A million times yes.

This is God’s plan for me, and He will be there with me through every second of labor and delivery. He’s called me, and He will qualify me.

I'll get to meet my son. I'll have the gift of becoming a momma, something I don't ever want to take for granted. I picture holding him on my chest moments after he takes his first breath in this world. His dad and I snuggling him with overwhelming thanksgiving for this good and perfect gift.

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Comment

Called and Qualified

March 14, 2019 Maggie Getz
maggie niemiec called and qualified

Today I am 37 weeks pregnant. Baby boy is about six pounds, the size of a honeydew melon, and it’s virtually impossible for me to think about anything other than him. I am working full-time, but whenever I have a free second, I am thinking about him. What will he look like? What will he smell like? How will he sleep? Will he be blonde or brunette (or have no hair at all)? What kind of boy will he grow into? What kind of mom and dad will we be?

I’m not afraid of being a mom—I’m beyond excited and know God has been preparing me for this for months. But the whole birthing process is still quite scary and overwhelming for me. I wrote early this year about my fear and how I experienced an anxiety attack around Christmas time. I truly think that panic was God's way of waking me up to challenge this fear.

A couple days ago, I said to my husband that I've been fearful my whole life. As long as I can remember, even as a child, I've had fear. Fear of giving a presentation at school, fear of the big test, fear of roller coasters, fear of sleepover parties, fear of being left out during a slow song at the school dance. And eventually fear of not being perfect and not measuring up to my own unreasonable standards, which contributed to my struggle with anorexia.

The fear has been with me. I know I must have had moments during my childhood where I confidently pursued my dreams and didn't think twice about doing so. A childlike faith, courage, and innocence. I don't believe we are born feeling fearful, but I can't pinpoint a time when fear first crept into my life. It doesn't make sense. My family always loved me and encouraged me. Life was good. So why did fear still overwhelm me? Why was fear this continual thread in my life?

The day after I shared this with my husband, I thought, Well, wait a minute. I've also done a bunch of things in my life that I was initially afraid to do.

In the eighth grade, I tried out for my school’s play for the first time, and I ended up being cast as Dorothy in our production of The Wizard of Oz. Terrifying yet so fun.

I took a trip abroad with my Spanish class the summer before my senior year of college. I cried in the car on the way to the airport because I was already homesick, but 10 days later, I was having so much fun that didn't want to come home.

I decided to go to college six hours away from my family, at a school where I knew no one.

And then I recognized when I needed help, needed to leave college, and needed to get treatment for my eating disorder. One of the most difficult things I've ever had to do.

Post-college, I moved to a Pennsylvania town of 10,000 for a magazine internship. It was there God gave me a newfound interest for his Word and Biblical community, plus a friend who to this day is like family to me.

I moved to New York City to pursue a career in journalism and ultimately pursued a relationship with Jesus. In 2015, I was baptized and shared my testimony as an adult with my church.

Sensing a new call on my life from God, I relocated to Nashville for the man I love and a job in full-time ministry—even though I had only been to Nashville once before and never worked in ministry.

And I started this blog, sharing my story and trusting that’s what God wants me to do.

I thought of all these experiences, and I saw God's faithfulness. Anytime I felt afraid and unsure, God was there for me.

I also remembered the countless men and women throughout the Bible who God used when they felt inadequate. He turned to people who seemed totally unqualified by cultural standards: Moses, Joseph, Daniel, Mary, the bleeding woman, Matthew, Peter. I read a quote somewhere about these men and women of the Bible that rang so true for me: God doesn't call the qualified; He qualifies the called.

“Then Moses said to the LORD, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.””
— Exodus 4:10
“But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.””
— Exodus 4:13

Moses repeatedly told the Lord to choose someone else to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land, and God kept reminding Moses that he was made for the journey.

Then we have Joseph—a young man sold into slavery by his brothers. He is wrongfully put in prison but eventually becomes ruler of Egypt—and his line of descendants leads to our Messiah, Jesus. Joseph is an unlikely hero. He looked completely unfit to rule Egypt or bring glory to God, but that’s exactly what he did. God qualified him. God didn’t care about how he looked socially or culturally; He cared about Joseph’s heart.

Stories of redemption like this are scattered all over the Bible.

Perhaps the most well-known is that of Mary, the 15-year-old girl chosen by the Father to be Jesus’ mother. She has a choice in the matter, and she boldly steps forward in obedience. Look at what happens in Luke 1 when the angel of the Lord visits her:

“The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.”

Mary is greatly troubled. Can you imagine what she felt learning this news? This was not 2019; this was a time when Mary could have been disowned for a child born outside of marriage. Not to mention, she’s only 15 years old. Yet she steps forward in faith. She trusts God, and she doesn’t let fear hold her back.

One of my favorite biblical stories is that of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego in the book of Daniel. These boys refuse to worship the king of Babylon, and in doing so, are sent to the fiery furnace to burn alive. Daniel 6 describes how the furnace is so hot that the soldiers who brought these boys to it immediately die. Except the boys don’t die when thrown into the fire. They walk around in the fire with God at their side.

““Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.””
— Daniel 3:25b

They risked their lives in order to serve God, and they are delivered from the fire. What stands out the most to me in this story is how God not only rescues them, but He walks with them through the trial. This is truth that I need to cling to. I need to remember this on a daily basis. God walks with us through fear, anxiety, pain, and suffering. He is still good, no matter what we are feeling or experiencing.

So does birth scare me? Yes.

Will it be worth it? A million times yes.

This is God’s plan for me, and He will be there with me through every second of labor and delivery. He’s called me, and He will qualify me.

I'll get to meet my son. I'll have the gift of becoming a momma, something I don't ever want to take for granted. I picture holding him on my chest moments after he takes his first breath in this world. His dad and I snuggling him with overwhelming thanksgiving for this good and perfect gift.

In motherhood Tags pregnancy, calling, daniel, joseph, moses, mary
2 Comments

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