Happy Mother’s Day to my friends who are carrying life in their wombs – I know the days are long and full of sickness, but rejoice in this fleeting, special season that not every woman is blessed to experience.
Happy Mother’s Day to my friends who grieve the loss of a child – celebrate them today and the role you played in their sweet life! Remember that every life is precious, even if they never lived to see your face. You are still their mother!
Happy Mother’s Day to the moms whose children are young and clamoring for more of you than you feel able to give – these moments are like vapor; take courage because you’re making a bigger impact than you know. Keep Investing!
Happy Mother’s Day to those whose children have left home and whose hearts are tempted to feel lonely and spent – you’re impact has not ended and your sacrifices will continue to reap benefits, even though you may not see it.
And to the woman who has never born children, or adopted a little one of her own, but her heart aches for that void, be encouraged. To you who have never diapered your own child, or cleaned up vomit in the middle of the night, or bandaged the scraped knee of your offspring, don’t allow this day to torment you. You have been created and crafted by the same loving Father who fashioned your neighbor across the street who has all those children. You have a specific design, a unique purpose, and the Almighty Father will continue to equip you to do exactly what He has called you to do, even if it doesn’t look quite like you envisioned.
Because the truth of the matter is that mothering doesn’t look like anyone envisioned, no matter how many children a woman has (or doesn’t have). Disenchantment and discouragement are par for the course for every mothering heart.
Where the enemy of our souls really wins ground is when we become convinced that because our mothering experience doesn’t look like hers, we should be doing something else. God created the Body of Christ with care and intentionality, and it simply isn’t up to us to decide what roles we are supposed to play or not play; it’s God’s.
The mother who lost her child wouldn’t have chosen it, but it happened and God is growing her through it for His purposes.
The mother whose heart aches to nurture a little one, but whose womb is barren would not have chosen this path, but the road she is on does not dictate her effectiveness or her importance for the Kingdom.
The mother whose home is filled with children, but whose heart is wreaked with havoc and feels isolated from friends and perhaps even her spouse certainly didn’t think that “this” was what mothering would be, but it does not mean that God has abandoned her.
It’s so easy to look at other women, their children, their marriage, their home, or their spouse and compare it to how much better life would be if we had what they do. But, here is where Satan wins and we become lost in the mire of deceit!
We were each crafted, each called, and each equipped for a specific purpose and when our eyes become so focused on what others have, we completely lose sight of what we have been given and called to!
Accepting the purpose that we have been called to doesn’t erase the ache of desire completely, but with time, obedience, and a willing spirit that surrenders to the all-knowing and all-loving Creator, His hands will so shape our hearts that we can’t help but walk in the abundant life He has called us to. Only He knows our hearts and only He knows how our hearts will best be filled and used for Him. When we long for something else, we rob ourselves of peaceful joy, we rob those around us of our ministry in their lives, and we are actively tearing down the Body of Christ. It would be a tragedy to miss the fullness that we were called to because we were so intent on mourning what we did not have.
I’m a mom of six sweet treasures, but despite the amazing gift of being blessed by their lives day in and day out, I too have caught myself wishing for something “else”. I’ve wished that I was the mom who didn’t feel called to homeschool and had so much time. Or the mom who has only one toddler playing. Or the woman who is well educated and has worked hard at pursuing a career, sometimes while still balancing children. I’ve wished for mornings to sleep in peace, I’ve wished for more quiet, I’ve longed for hours to spend reading or running or even sitting alone. It’s in these moments that my heart is crowded with feelings of tension, of being misplaced, and of utter dissatisfaction. Because I’m believing a lie!
When I take off the glasses of what I think I want or what I feel I deserve, I realize that my greatest treasure is right in front of me.
The treasure of what I’ve been called to.
The job I’ve been given is to mother, it’s to pick up dirty clothes, it’s to find my dress shoes left in the rain by a pint-sized princess, it’s to scrub dishes, it’s to clean up broken glass dropped by little hands, it’s to spend hours at the grocery store, and it’s to constantly pick up toys that were left behind.
The secret to contentment is not found in what the treasure actually is, but rather how you see that treasure.
Do you trust the Treasure Giver? Do you rely on the faithful goodness of His heart? When we realize that He knows better than we do, we can embrace the purpose we’ve been given, even if it’s different than we had envisioned, and we can be encouraged that we have a calling to which He has equipped us for!
So, if you’re a mom of young kids, a mom of teens, a mom whose kids are no longer living, or a woman whose heart is called to mother those around her, be encouraged to wisely use the gifts you’ve been given in the way God has called you to use them.
The abundant life is waiting and it’s too valuable to be thrown away simply because we thought we wanted something else.