I’m hoping to bring some encouragement, inspiration and good cheer to you today. Being a mother brings its own joys and rewards but can also be very exhausting. Certainly if all you have is young children at home. The days can seem so long and you feel like your going to lose your mind sometimes but I'm telling you these days are truly short lived. The early mornings and late nights don’t leave much room for adequate sleep which also creates the tendency of us to put ourselves last in every thing. This can have a significant effect on our self-esteem. You may even feel like you're not even making an impact on your child's life when it comes to your faith in Christ.
I'm here to tell you that you're not alone. Being the mother of five children has brought me to an understanding of just how much of a blessing it can be. It wasn’t until I had my first two children many years ago, that I began to seek God more diligently. God began to work in my life. He began to stir my heart into wanting to be closer to Him. For years I struggled with wondering what Gods plan was for me. See, I had a deep desire in my heart to want to be on the front-lines of Gods army. I wanted to be out in the community servicing others or on mission’s trips in other countries.
As my family grew, I was faced with the reality that I didn’t have the time to do those things without having to sacrifice time away from my family. I began to put those specific plans away in my mind and began to focus on prayer and what God had in store for me. I prayed and prayed for many years and I felt like God was just not answering me. I began to lose hope in what my calling was. Sadly, it wasn’t until my mother passed away that I really started to get some answers. The influence she played in my life, the strong faith she held onto, and the way she made this world a better place really pushed me to be a better mother. Months and weeks before she passed away, I found peace and comfort on this old dirt road when I use to visit her. Those feelings helped me get through those last days, along with the hope that I would see her again one day.
It wasn't that specific moment that shed light on my calling but the events that took place after that.
Sometimes we spend so much time concentrating and trying to figure out what God wants us to do, that we just don’t see what’s right in front of us. There are times when God wants to use us right where we are. If you are a mother, that is your calling. As simple as that may sound it's TRUE.
It all hit me one Sunday morning at church. Feelings of guilt suppressed me as the pastor talked about how the members of the church should help serve the community more. He brought up the calling of God’s plan in our lives. As he named off many things we could do to serve others I couldn't help but feel useless. I couldn't do half of the things he listed because I was too busy at home with all my little ones. Before I drowned myself in self pity, I remember him saying
“Some of you mothers are sitting here today wondering where you fit in all of this. How can you be a blessing to the world? What is God's calling in your life? Well I’m here to tell you that being a mother is a calling. Raising those kids to know the Lord is your calling.”
And then it hit me…. like a ton of bricks.
I had spent all this time wondering how I could be a servant of the Lord and the answer was right in front of me. Blinded by all the tasks of motherhood, it had seemed as if this title was more like an endless job than it was a calling. Sure, I had expressed my faith to my kids, I had read them some bible stories, and prayed with them but I wasn't really focusing my time on them knowing the Lord. In all reality, I was more concerned about how happy they were and how to keep them busy in extracurricular activities. Why not slow down and embrace the blessing of being able to teach them. Activities, sports, music, art, etc are good for our children but where is the true value in all of this? What meaning does any of this have if our children are too busy and grow up not knowing the Lord?
The bible clearly states
“And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be on thine heart: And thou shall teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 KJV
There are many other scriptures discussing the importance of raising our children in the admonition of the Lord. In fact, I think it is more important now than it's ever been. We are living in the times of Noah, people! No need to go into details here, you know what I mean. The world wants to teach our kids where they need to place their faith and how to do so. Our kids need to have a strong identity in Christ, so they know where they stand. Over the years I've learned that as a Christian mom, it is my number one duty, to teach them the Word of God. In the scripture above, God instructs us to talk to our children about Him every opportunity we have. We are to lead them and to be the best role models we can be. Our kid’s spiritual education is not our pastors or youth pastors responsibility. It's our responsibility! Every action we take and every word we say regarding the Lord has an impact. When it comes to teaching them, don’t worry about how your children will respond to Jesus. Salvation is God’s job. We are to set the foundation and hopefully one day, they will do the same for their children. In the past, I use to worry about the future success of my children. What do they want to do when they grow up? Are they going to choose a good career? I focused on what I could do to make sure that they were set up for future success. Yes, I think that is important but more then anything else I want them to know the Lord. There is nothing else in this world that is more important to me than my children putting their hope and trust in Jesus Christ. Everything else will work itself out. If you're wondering how you can serve the Lord as a mother or searching for your calling, know that what you are doing is a calling. It is our job to raise our children to be godly in a sinful world.
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
- Proverbs 22:6 KJV
May God bless you and guide your heart. Thanks for reading!
