Motherhood; my new calling

As a parent, I do many things for my child. I feed, clothe, shelter, and nurture her. But out of all the things I do as a parent, one of the greatest and most important things I must do is show my child the glory of God. As a parent who is journeying through the stages of parenting, this is by far one area that I am learning to be diligent enough in – praying for my daughter to LOVE GOD. Often times we feel that we have all the power or control in how our children turn out. I have learned the exact opposite. Our energy is better spent praying and releasing control to Jesus rather than getting uptight and overworked on managing behavior and freaking out.

When we falter, and we will, we can point out to our children that we are not perfect but like Jesus was, we strive to be like Him. Jesus was love personified. He was full of love, slow to anger, compassionate, and gracious. This is what I, as a parent, I should strive to be like. I have received grace and one of the biggest life lessons my child can see is me on my knees praying, asking for forgiveness when I sin.

When I realize I will have far greater influence on my child than anyone else, then I must realize that every word I speak, every act, every response, my attitude, even my appearance and manner of dress affect her life. The influence of a mother in the life of her child is beyond calculation. It is always a choice to do the right thing even when I am not sure what the right thing is but am confident that in feeding her what the bible has fed me then she will be fine and when I am not there to guide her then that same word will keep her…and to forgive myself, over and over again, for doing every other thing wrong.

Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not take care of your children because you find them cuter than stamps…hehehe maybe partly. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.The Bible is clear about the value of children. Jesus loved them, and we are commanded to love them, to bring them up in the nurture of the Lord. We are to imitate God and take pleasure in our children. Children know the difference between a mother who is saving face to a stranger and a mother who defends their life and their worth with her smile, her love, and her absolute loyalty.

When my sister tells me, “Your hands are full!” I am so thankful that she already knows what my answer will be. It was the same one that I always give: “Yes they are—full of good things!” Live the gospel in the things that no one sees. Sacrifice for your children in places that only they will know about. Put their value ahead of yours. Grow them up in the clean air of gospel living. Your testimony to the gospel in the little details of your life is more valuable to them than you can imagine. If you tell them the gospel, but live to yourself, they will never believe it. Give your life for theirs every day, joyfully. Lay down pettiness. Lay down fussiness. Lay down resentment about the dishes, about the laundry, about how no one knows how hard you work.

“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14). And then, as Matthew tells us, “he laid his hands on them” (Matthew 19:15).When Jesus did this, both for his day and for our own, he marked himself as an advocate for children. Let the little children come to me. This means, in a beautiful way we can’t quite fathom, that Jesus loves your children more than you do.

David wrote that the one place he most wanted to be was in God’s presence. “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).We have the privilege of showing our children that everything in life pales in comparison to enjoying God and being in his presence. Everything else in life will let us down, break, or turn out to be less than we expected, but God always satisfies.