Recently I started pondering the things that God has taught me over the years and is still teaching me on the journey of motherhood!
I searched the Scriptures and came away with four important points. So I'll begin with point number one:
Motherhood Is a GIFT
Psalm 127 says: "Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.... Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth." The word heritage means an inheritance "something to pass down something to cherish and treasure; a legacy. "
In the Bible, Hannah, Sarah, and Elizabeth teach us that children are indeed a GIFT ~a miracle. Sarah waited ninety one years to have a baby. Children are a blessing and a miracle because no matter what age or time or season it is God and God alone who opens the womb. He not only knows our little ones before birth but even before conception. Like it states in Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew YOU...." Isn't that amazing?
Motherhood is a GIFT, a treasure, a legacy. Although the days can seem long. The years are so so short. We truly have the privilege of investing not only in them but also in the next generation--our grandchildren and great grandchildren.
What are we choosing to invest in for God's glory?
Are we choosing love?
Are we choosing peace?
Are we choosing truth?
Are we choosing patience?
Are we choosing to prize JESUS above all else or our wants and desires?
As JC Ryle puts it, “Love should be the silver thread that runs through all your conduct. Kindness, gentleness, long suffering, forbearance, patience, sympathy, a willingness to enter into childish troubles, a readiness to take part in childish joys, - these are the cords by which a child may be led most easily, - these are the clues you must follow if you would find the way to his heart.”
This godly heritage is created daily not only by our duties we fulfill but also by all the little moments of interacting with our children. These little exchanges with our children whether it be a smile or a listening ear or taking the time to pray with them & DELIGHT in the things they want to show us. They are some of the most precious times and ones that our children will treasure forever in life even when we often FAIL at this. Which brings me to my second point:
Motherhood HUMBLES us.
For those of you who could remember when you were younger in your pre-mom days, there may have been a few times when you could of recalled being in the store & seeing one of those moms with her toddler who was having a tantrum on the floor. "Oh my stars," you might of thought, "that won't be me or my child!" But then when motherhood hits full circle and we have a toddler of our very own we are faced with the reality that children are indeed sinners. Like Romans states, weak and vulnerable and in many ways they mirror ourselves.
Children need love, lots of prayer, and training which ties into my third point:
Motherhood stretches us.
There will be so so many training moments as moms. So many opportunities to discipline in love. Sometimes it will be miserably inconvenient , yet extremely needed. We will be called many times to give up our time schedules to train/ discipline and instruct our little ones and serving them even when our bodies are weary from being up all night with a fussy baby. OR COOKING DINNER WITH BOTH KIDS CRYING.
These things are hard, tough and weighty at times but we are only able to do them by Christ's grace and strength which is my next & final point:
Motherhood points us to CHRIST our ultimate source of strength!
As we fulfill our mission as moms, we must remind ourselves that CHRIST is our ultimate Source of strength for the battle and the fight. And it is a battle we enter every day. We can pray without ceasing and choose to put God's Word in our hearts even if it's only a few verses in the car or at home. Or a few chapters.
I think Satan's biggest lie is trying to convince us that "oh that's too little or oh that's too much." Thus, we sometimes end up doing no Bible reading. Which he savors. We can choose to serve our children with joy and thankfulness instead of comparing ourselves or our children with others. When....we are all SO different and unique. Our struggles can often range from feeling sorry for ourselves, feeling overwhelmed, depressed, or perhaps even making the mistake of thinking that our identity rests in motherhood instead of remembering that our identity must rest in Christ alone.
Sally Clarkson puts it this way, "When you are oppressed with constant thoughts of inadequacy, recognize the voice of accusation for who it is. It certainly isn't God."
It is Christ who will strengthen us and enable us to find true joy as we serve and mother our little's for His glory.
As that old hymn states: On Christ the Solid Rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand.
Jennifer
Living her dream of being a wife & mother. Jen happily resides in Sunny California. She firmly believes that the home is a beautiful canvas for biblical hospitality, servant hood and discipleship.
Jen blogs at Blessed Femina, which she founded in the fall of 2008 to encourage other women in Biblical femininity. It is her greatest desire to live a life depicted in I Corinthians 10:31: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
http://blessed-femina.blogspot.com
Living her dream of being a wife & mother. Jen happily resides in Sunny California. She firmly believes that the home is a beautiful canvas for biblical hospitality, servant hood and discipleship.
Jen blogs at Blessed Femina, which she founded in the fall of 2008 to encourage other women in Biblical femininity. It is her greatest desire to live a life depicted in I Corinthians 10:31: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
http://blessed-femina.blogspot.com
