When the three oldest were young (3 on down to 6 months) we had gone to the beach as a family. At this time there wasn't much extra in the way of funds so we tried to be careful where it was spent. However, we thought it would be nice to splurge and take the girls out for a sit-down breakfast. Long story short we left the restaurant before we were even done eating. The table that we sat at looked like a hurricane had come through. One of the girls had oatmeal all over the front of her while the milk that had been spilt had made more than one of us wet and soggy. Right before we left there was that moment of shock and disbelief only to turn to laughter as we noticed onlookers gazing at the nut -cakes sitting next to them. It was a while before we took our kids to a restaurant again.
"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates."
Proverbs 31:30-31
I have been a homemaker for almost 40 years. I have raised 5 children, homeschooling all of them. There are four daughters and one son who have gone on to be productive members of society. All of them professing faith in Jesus Christ and are training their children to love Jesus and live according to His Word. I'm really not trying to brag but I do have to admit that I'm proud of the adults my children have become (in spite of me!). I'm pulling a trick like the apostle Paul did. The reason I say these things is that there is something else I want to say.
It isn't at all popular to be a mom and especially if you have chosen to stay, and have been able to stay, at home to be with your children. Its kind of like being a dinosaur. You know ~ extinct. Here is a little picture for you: You are at a party and having a polite conversation with someone new. The dreaded question comes, "What do you do for a living?" You bravely answer that you GET to stay at home and raise the children. Awkward silence ensues maybe with a half hearted smile from that new person you were trying to get to know. You try to keep the conversation going but it isn't long before they have left to find someone more interesting to converse with. It probably would have been better to tell them that you are a dog trainer instead of a soul-shaper of human beings.
We live in a topsy-turvy society to be sure. I don't think it is getting much better either. We have been sold a bill of goods. In the amazing creation of an Imago Dei we've been told that children are a burden, an interruption of our life's plans, and penance for a moment of passion . It is true that children are a huge responsibility. By the time everything is said and done the financial aspect is enough to break the bank. There is drama involved and sleepless nights (something that never really goes away). A mom loses her own identity of who she thinks she is to the immediate needs of the helpless ones that God has given her. It can be a thankless job with little financial rewards. It can break you until you don't think you will ever be put back together again. And yet . . . .
If you are a Christian mom God has called you to a high calling. What you do in obscurity is well known to the Lord of life. Your sacrifice day in and day out will grant you a reward like no other. You might not be making the big bucks but the dividends are enormous. I'm talking about motherhood/homemaking as a divine calling from the Lord. Where else does a woman get the opportunity to train, for a good portion of her life, someone for the eternal? Where else does service to the Kingdom of God become more relevant?
As women, particularily those with young children who stay at home, you can feel like you are lost in some kind of little people vortex never to come out alive. This feeling can multiply with each baby that comes. Add to that the isolation of being at home most of the time with minimal adult conversation is reason to turn you into something not fit for adult human interaction. I hope you can see the humor here. If you can't, trust me, someday you will.
You are on a mission. Quite truthfully it is just as important if you were going to some far off country to preach the gospel to the unsaved. One of the differences here is that you aren't being fully funded in the endeavor. It is this important and has eternal ramifications. It is a life long journey for the sake of another. And this is Christian work in the trenches. Think about this deeply and with intention. There is no other job, ministry or calling that will ask more of you, take so much from you but reward you so deeply. It is a grave mistake to underestimate your importance.
For those of us that thought it would be easy we have learned through the school of hard knocks. And I, for one, am so extremely grateful. It has been in the trenches that I have experienced the grace of God for my failings and the courage given from the Holy Spirit to keep moving forward. It has taught me to run to Jesus for help and trust the Bible to believe what is true. In this school it has shown my children what really is important in life. And now I get the extreme delight to see the process all over again in the next generation.
Motherhood has fallen on hard times but it will never be extinguished. It is the natural order of things. For the Christian woman it is still a high calling and as she fears the Lord it is praise worthy. You are the everyday heroes and I happen to think there you are endowed with super powers. Never, never, ever think that you are someone less than. Do not believe the nay sayers that think you should have a career to bring fulfillment. You really don't need to feel important to be important. I wonder if we will be surprised to see the many jewels in the crown of the women whose mission and calling was to be "mom".
It isn't at all popular to be a mom and especially if you have chosen to stay, and have been able to stay, at home to be with your children. Its kind of like being a dinosaur. You know ~ extinct. Here is a little picture for you: You are at a party and having a polite conversation with someone new. The dreaded question comes, "What do you do for a living?" You bravely answer that you GET to stay at home and raise the children. Awkward silence ensues maybe with a half hearted smile from that new person you were trying to get to know. You try to keep the conversation going but it isn't long before they have left to find someone more interesting to converse with. It probably would have been better to tell them that you are a dog trainer instead of a soul-shaper of human beings.
We live in a topsy-turvy society to be sure. I don't think it is getting much better either. We have been sold a bill of goods. In the amazing creation of an Imago Dei we've been told that children are a burden, an interruption of our life's plans, and penance for a moment of passion . It is true that children are a huge responsibility. By the time everything is said and done the financial aspect is enough to break the bank. There is drama involved and sleepless nights (something that never really goes away). A mom loses her own identity of who she thinks she is to the immediate needs of the helpless ones that God has given her. It can be a thankless job with little financial rewards. It can break you until you don't think you will ever be put back together again. And yet . . . .
If you are a Christian mom God has called you to a high calling. What you do in obscurity is well known to the Lord of life. Your sacrifice day in and day out will grant you a reward like no other. You might not be making the big bucks but the dividends are enormous. I'm talking about motherhood/homemaking as a divine calling from the Lord. Where else does a woman get the opportunity to train, for a good portion of her life, someone for the eternal? Where else does service to the Kingdom of God become more relevant?
As women, particularily those with young children who stay at home, you can feel like you are lost in some kind of little people vortex never to come out alive. This feeling can multiply with each baby that comes. Add to that the isolation of being at home most of the time with minimal adult conversation is reason to turn you into something not fit for adult human interaction. I hope you can see the humor here. If you can't, trust me, someday you will.
You are on a mission. Quite truthfully it is just as important if you were going to some far off country to preach the gospel to the unsaved. One of the differences here is that you aren't being fully funded in the endeavor. It is this important and has eternal ramifications. It is a life long journey for the sake of another. And this is Christian work in the trenches. Think about this deeply and with intention. There is no other job, ministry or calling that will ask more of you, take so much from you but reward you so deeply. It is a grave mistake to underestimate your importance.
For those of us that thought it would be easy we have learned through the school of hard knocks. And I, for one, am so extremely grateful. It has been in the trenches that I have experienced the grace of God for my failings and the courage given from the Holy Spirit to keep moving forward. It has taught me to run to Jesus for help and trust the Bible to believe what is true. In this school it has shown my children what really is important in life. And now I get the extreme delight to see the process all over again in the next generation.
Motherhood has fallen on hard times but it will never be extinguished. It is the natural order of things. For the Christian woman it is still a high calling and as she fears the Lord it is praise worthy. You are the everyday heroes and I happen to think there you are endowed with super powers. Never, never, ever think that you are someone less than. Do not believe the nay sayers that think you should have a career to bring fulfillment. You really don't need to feel important to be important. I wonder if we will be surprised to see the many jewels in the crown of the women whose mission and calling was to be "mom".
