Embracing Motherhood

Each mom reading this has a different story. Some of you are just beginning the journey, while others have been at it a while. Some are working moms, others are stay at home moms, and some of you serve in different areas of ministry. But no matter where we are at in our personal lives, we all have this in common: we share the gift of Motherhood.

Today I want to encourage each of you to embrace motherhood. It is the most amazing gift you will ever receive.

Sometimes we can get so caught up in believing the lie that our children are distracting us from more important things. When in fact, raising them is the most important thing we will ever do.

Maybe it's different for you, but when my children were young, I would occasionally get caught up in a pity party when I was stuck home changing diapers or folding what seemed like the millionth load of laundry, while my husband got to be out doing important ministry stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I have always loved being a mom. It’s what I always wanted to be when I grew up. And still, I would find myself wishing I had the freedom to be more involved in other things.

During one of those pity parties, while I was complaining to the Lord, He spoke the following truth to my heart:

He showed me that I had right there at my feet, my own little mission field, so to speak. These children were my harvest. I had these precious little lives to shape and mold. They were looking to me, not just for their physical needs to be met, but also to teach them how to love Jesus and grow up to be who they were created to be. It doesn’t mean all those other things aren’t important, it just means that being a mom is the most important calling we have.

God gave me this scripture to hang on to as a reminder through the years:

Deuteronomy 6:5-7 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might. 6 "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.  7 "You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.

The Message Bible says it like this:

Deuteronomy 6:5-9 Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that's in you, love him with all you've got! Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night.

What this tells us is that first a mother should fill her own heart with God’s word and then deliberately and diligently teach her children every minute of every day. How do we do this? We teach them through our words and our actions.

First and foremost, we should live our lives in such a way that we are a reflection of the love and character of Jesus. We should recognize and take advantage of every opportunity to teach our children what God’s word says.

I took this mandate from God seriously and looked for teaching opportunities. If one of my children had been unkind, I would teach them that the bible tells us in Ephesians 4:32 that we are to be kind to one another and that we are to forgive one another. When they disobeyed we would go to the bible and talk about Ephesians 6:1 that tells children to obey their parents…because it’s the right thing to do, etc. I also started looking for opportunities to pray with them all throughout the day, not just at bedtime. When someone got hurt we would stop and pray; every time we heard sirens, we took a minute to pray for the emergency workers and whomever it was they were going to help. I wanted them to learn that they could pray anytime. I spent time teaching them by my example to love the church and show respect to their leaders (church, school, sports, etc.). I taught them by my example that it was not okay to badmouth teachers, coaches, youth pastors or anyone else when something didn’t go their way. 

Moms, the more time we spend talking with our children about the things of God, the more likely they are to get it into their hearts. After a while, it becomes a way of life.

I encourage you to make sure you are embracing this season and not wishing it to be past, because moms, you only have such a short time to parent these little ones and before you know it you’re 47 years old and you have 3 grandsons and a granddaughter on the way. Believe me, I know ;). Like the commercial says: “Life comes at you fast.” Make sure to embrace every moment.

There is no greater place of ministry, position, or power than that of a mother.