With Mother’s Day having just passed, much thought was given to mothering, particularly parenting.
There are challenges and rewards which come with parenting and yes, the rewards can outnumber the challenges. Yet there is no denying that parenting/mothering is a monumental job each and every day. It is exhausting. It is sacrificial. It is a roller coaster ride of emotions. On a daily basis.
The pressure we put on ourselves to mother with perfection, to raise trophy children, is a burden we just cannot carry. We were not meant to carry it. We are here in their lives for a short time that will hopefully leave a lifetime of memories.
We mold their lives in much the same fashion that we show them how to shape play-doh.
We impress dreams and goals on their tender hearts and minds just as we teach them to paint a picture with their little fingers.
We fan their abilities and talents hoping for a successful outcome much like we put a thousand piece puzzle together and hope for a completed picture, work of art, or masterpiece.
We send them to school, to camps, to sports, to dance ”“ adding experiences to their little lives ”“ much the way we add ingredients to a recipe and pray for an award winning dessert.
There is nothing in life that will tug on our heart strings more than motherhood and parenting.
So the question becomes….
How? How do we mold and impress, fan and add to their lives so that we produce children whose lives will fulfill God’s purposes?
“Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7, NLT)
We see here some very practical ways in which we can parent successfully. And it all falls upon us, the parents:
- Love. Love God. Love Him with all you have. Love Him fully. Completely. To love your children well, you must love God first.
- Commit. Be fully and wholly committed to Him. May Christ be reflected in all areas of your life. Know His Word. Obey His commands. Be diligent in prayer.
- Repeat. You need to know His Word in order to repeat His Word to your children. Again. And again. And again. They need to hear it repeatedly so that it sinks into their hearts while their heart is still tender and malleable.
- Talk. Talk about God’s Word and the effect it has had on your life. Talk about how God makes life work. Talk about His character, His activity, Who He is. Talk constantly.
Mothering takes place in the dailyness of life. Raising our children to love God also takes place each day.
“What is a godly mother? A godly mother is one who loves the Lord her God with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength and then passionately, consistently, and unrelentingly teaches her children to do the same.” (Elizabeth George)
This is the battle we face each morning, and we fight it in 24 hour segments of time. One day at a time.
But if we are faithful and we love, commit, repeat and talk;
it is a battle that can be won and
one day we will reap a harvest!Â
Truth. How do we find it? In her post, “Truth: A Process of Sifting”, Pam Ecrement shares much wisdom and a powerful principle to benefit us greatly in the processing of sifting to find the truth.
Come, sit a spell. Bring your coffee, your posts, and your thoughts. If you link up, kindly visit those who have drawn up a seat around you.
Photo by James Wheeler on Unsplash
Today I am joining …
Hi Joanne, this mother’s day was very hard for me. I think I spent alot of it mulling over my failures etc but eventually turning to Christ in the moments and feeling my heart being cushioned by His word and His love. Great post, great points to remember. I will be back later to link up, seems I am a little early over my side of the world (South Africa 🙂 )
God bless, Tracy
(I have finally started a new blog with a new vigour – http://www.faithhopeloveandtea.blogspot,com. I would love if you would pop over and visit 🙂
This! “Mothering takes place in the dailyness of life. Raising our children to love God also takes place each day.” Yes, it has to happen while we are doing life and walking with God. Beautiful message, Joanne.
I think it was the “repeat ” part of mothering that tripped me up–and if I am honest, it’s the repetitive nature of everything that tests my faithfulness most.
I am thankful for my Mother and the other women who have been like mothers to me. Mama has gone on to Heaven now. She passed away in 2013.
Joanne, I love your tender thoughts here. Mother’s Day is hard for me, like Tracy mentioned above, failures are many and dominate my thoughts. Yet God moved me this year to a new beginning. A beginning of reaching before me, not wasting my time looking behind me. I love your question, “How? How do we mold and impress, fan and add to their lives so that we produce children whose lives will fulfill God’s purposes?” Because we can fulfill our ourpose with not only our children, but grandchildren, and other children God chooses to allow into our lives. Such wonderful and hopeful advice in your post, thank you!!
So true, Joanne, if we love God first, everything else falls into place. Parenting is such a rewarding and stretching part of our journey in life!
All of these points are so important. Sometimes in mothering we can get lost in the everyday details and the never-ending things to be done. But in the midst of those things, we can be faithful and we can share that God is real to us. Sometimes I think that goes a lot farther than the occasional grand gesture.
So many suffer through Mother’s Day. We lost my mom in 2012. I had a long season of grieving and today, I can celebrate her being in heaven with complete joy and peace.
You did a great job of picking out the most important things!
Oh, Joanne, your words spoke tenderly to me today. Thank you. These are the things that matter.
Blessings,
Tammy
Thank you Joanne for this encouraging post. Yes, motherhood takes a lot of sacrifice & hard work but when we see our children walking in God’s plan for their lives (even those who don’t realise it 😉) it is so rewarding!
Blessings,
Jennifer
Thanks, Joanne! Hope you had a happy Mother’s Day!
The most important part of parenting truly does happen in the everyday events and non-events of life, doesn’t it? I love the way you boiled down the principles in Deuteronomy 6. Pinning this post to my biblical parenting board.
Thank you for these wise words, Joanne. I’m so glad we get a fresh start every day. I’ve needed that pretty badly during certain seasons of my life! We both had good examples to follow, didn’t we? (And, especially around Mother’s Day, it warms my heart to think that our moms knew each other long ago. â¤ï¸)
Lots of wisdom here Ms. Joanne. I think back to the many “life lessons” I carry with me, and the most important ones were those demonstrated by my adoptive parents. I think one of my most precious memories are of laying in bed and listening to Mom pray over each family member in the early morning hours before anyone else was awake. Oh, what a powerful example of faith is a praying mama.