"For my mom to help her to get better."
Moms,
If you are a saver, like me, you know the sentimental
sweetness of discovering a treasure like this.
My daughter hadn't mastered spelling yet, but out of concern for her
sick mother, she seized a prayer card from the pew in front of her in church,
to submit her request. Katherine is 23
now, about to return from an eight month internship in Uganda with SAVE THE
MOTHERS. I frequently ask for her
prayers.
It doesn't seem that many years ago I was juggling two
children, eighteen and a half months apart, as a stay-at-home Mom. I didn't ever feel like "a natural". Grocery shopping was especially stressful,
Katherine pushing her little person cart, and Davy sitting in mine. We called him "The Candy Man" in those early
years, so you know what he was reaching for!
By the time I was unloading at the check-out, I could be fairly
frazzled. That's when the older mothers
and grandmothers would send warm, wistful and endearing looks our way, and I
would think to myself—"Are you free for a couple of hours?"
I told you I wasn't a natural!
But, I did get better!
I have no regrets about putting my broadcast ministry on the back burner
for 12 years. Motherhood has been the
highest honor and privilege of my life, and it demanded full attention. The result was learning new skills,
discovering what it means to be a "neighbor", and to "love your neighbor". (It was challenging to live that out when I
was never home!) I obediently entered a whole new world and engaged the people in it - especially two little eternal souls. It enlarged me in too many ways to count.
Children
are a gift from the Lord;
they are a reward from him.
The demands of children, especially newborns, can make the
role of Mom seem more like a "living sacrifice" (see Romans 12:1), than a
"reward".
My husband had a cartoon that said, "Be alert. The world needs Lerts." Katherine was our
little "Lert". Our baby was alert to everything from birth, and only
catnapped for twenty minutes maximum in the afternoons. I couldn't unload the dishwasher in one
sweep! When Davy entered the picture, I
felt like a robot in constant motion. As
someone once said,
"Now,
as always, the most automated appliance in a household is the mother."
Richard would play with the children as long as he could
before heading for work each morning, but the inevitable came, with -- "Bye-bye." Everything in me screamed "NO!"
But all too soon you'll turn around and they're grown! Enjoy
them. In fact, like the grandparents, delight in them, as your Heavenly Father
delights in you! Emotions still rise
when I recall scrambling to get my two preschoolers ready for their swim class
at the public pool. In the same change
room was the most unflappable, loving mother of a severely disabled little boy
in a wheel chair. Just seeing them each
week reminded me I was not appropriating the sufficient grace that was
available to me, in Christ.
Many things will entice you Mom, offering more immediate
gratification, affirmation and reward.
Don't squander the "gift", or minimize the high and holy calling. Motherhood can be a lonely profession. That is why connecting with other Moms is so important - sharing your journeys
together, supporting one another and praying for each other.
Remember, you are NEVER alone. Motherhood is a ministry. And Jesus never sent His children
out to minister alone.
Isaiah 40:11 challenged my overloaded life as a new mother,
and began to light the path to home in 1994—"… he gently leads those that have young."
A favourite quote from the chapter, Parenting—The Greatest Adventure, in my book, HUGS FROM HEAVEN:
"Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see." -- Neil Postman
Here's a little fun from a church bulletin:
SOME
PRINCIPLES OF MOTHERHOOD
YOU
KNOW YOU'RE A MOM WHEN…
We have a rich lineup of mom bloggers and authors on the
programs leading up to Mother's Day.
They bring a treasure trove of wisdom and practical tools to
enrich your joy in parenting!
