Motherhood
Author: Pam Winkle
May 01, 2023
The month of May is upon us and spring is in the air.
From the blossoming of trees and flowers blooming, to the chirping of the
birds, new life is all around us.
It’s also the month during which we set aside a Sunday
to celebrate and honor the mothers in our lives. There are many types of
mothers to celebrate. Whether married,
single, grandmother, or great grandmother, every mother has a role in nurturing
and training children.
Not all women are able to bear children of their own. Yet,
God oftentimes provides these women opportunities to rear children through
adoption or gives them the privilege of nurturing children that need to be
loved and trained. Mothering can also take the form of mentoring a child in the
Lord, such as a niece, nephew, neighbor, or someone in your church body. People
are desperate for godly role models and examples, especially in these times
when an anti-Christian agenda is being pushed in our world.
When I was a little girl, all I wanted when I grew up
was to be a wife and mother. The Lord was gracious and blessed me with a
wonderful husband and four precious daughters. In the years since first becoming a mother, I have learned several helpful
principles that are applicable to all mothers, no matter their situation.
Blessing
and Sacrifice
Some of the first things that I learned in my
mothering is that I was exceedingly selfish. This precious gift from God was
very demanding of my time. It was no longer just my husband and I. God was
teaching me to be a servant and how to yield my will to His. I was growing, little by little, by being in
His Word daily, praying, and watching godly examples. His Word is what guided
my husband and I in how to be godly parents. Praise God for His grace and
forgiveness. We were far from perfect parents, but we had that solid rock to
stand upon when parenting became a challenge.
His
Word Our Guide
As a young mom, as impossible as it may sound, you
need to make time for a personal quiet time with the Lord. I wasn’t a morning
person, so I would sit down even when chores were calling me and spend some
time with the Lord, usually at the girls’ nap time. It was small chunks at first, maybe 15
minutes, but as the girls grew my time increased. I’ve been walking with the
Lord for nearly 45 years now, and morning devotions/prayer time is still a
necessary part of starting my day.
I also tried to make time to listen to good godly
radio programs and teachings during my day. My girls always knew at 9:00 in the
morning, Gateway to Joy would come on
the radio hosted by Elisabeth Elliot. They would play quietly as I would sit
and listen for that half hour. She was such a wise godly woman and I still call
her my “spiritual mother.” She was a no-nonsense kind of lady, and I liked that
about her. I remember her saying, “It’s more important to raise ‘holy’
children, than ‘happy’ children.” That always stuck with me, especially when
hard parenting/mothering decisions had to be made.
Practically speaking, try to have a family devotional
time if not every day, every other day. Set a time to gather (we had ours at
7:00 p.m.). When first starting out, make the devotion short, especially with
younger children.
Deuteronomy
6:4-9 —
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and
with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in
your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall
talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie
down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and
they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the
doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
Deuteronomy
11:19 — “You
shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house,
when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”
Proverbs
22:6 – “Train
up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from
it.”
Proverbs
22:15 – “Foolishness
is bound up in the heart of a child but the rod of correction will drive it far
from him.”
Proverbs
23:13-14 — “Do
not withhold correction from a child,
For
if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod,
And
deliver his soul from hell.”
Proverbs
23:23-26 – “Buy
truth, and do not sell it, Get wisdom and discipline and understanding. The
father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise son will
be glad in him. Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her rejoice
who gave birth to you. Give your heart to me, my son, And let your eyes delight
in my ways.”
Pray
for Wisdom and Guidance
Another helpful principle that I have been reminded of
as a mother is that God wants us to come boldly to Him in prayer with all our
needs and requests. When we do so, He will give us wisdom, guidance and
direction. Let us not forsake this spiritual discipline and miss out on the
many blessings He has for us if we would only ask in faith.
James
1:5-8 – “If
any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and
without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with
no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by
the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the
Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
Hebrews
4:16 – “Let
us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and
find grace to help in time of need.”
I
Corinthians 2:5 – “That your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power
of God.”
I
Corinthians 2:13 – “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches
but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”
Proverbs
21:30 – “There
is no wisdom or understanding or counsel against the Lord.”
Proverbs
1:7 – “The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and
instruction.”
Proverbs
3:5-7 – “Trust
in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all
your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Do
not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil.”
Godly
Heritage
We have to always remember these little ones put in
our charge are “precious gifts” from the Lord, and we need to be good stewards
by raising and training them in the ways of the Lord.
Psalm
127:3 — “Behold,
children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.”
Psalm
127:4 — “Like
arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.”
Proverbs
31:28 — “Her
children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her”
Reflection
Through many years of mothering, with all of its ups
and downs, I learned to trust in Jesus and I learned to trust in God. Yes, all
the blood, sweat and tears are worth it! God is so faithful, even when I’ve
failed. I have learned that children are so forgiving, but so is our heavenly
Father.
Mother, keep pressing on, and remember to pray for
your children/grandchildren and those in your charge every day.
3
John 1:4 — “I
have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
John
17:17 – “Sanctify
them by the truth; Your word is truth.”
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