What a beautiful final chapter was presented to us in The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson. A challenging call to faithfulness and perseverance in our roles as mothers.
“The truth is, parenting is hard. We parents are to be shepherds watching over our children’s lives -guiding, protecting, determining what is best for them. And sometimes it seems that wolves are waiting at each turn in the path to woo our children into their clutches. Diligent parents must confront these wolves again and again, and sometimes we must do battle for our children’s souls. Establishing a godly heritage will come at a great cost.” (page 224)
“Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.” (Hebrews 10:35-39).
We are inadequate to complete this high calling of motherhood, I think we all would agree on that point. We are continually tempted to give up and doubt our abilities to withstand the strong cultural influences all around us. This task requires grit and perseverance. But thank God that it can be and will be accomplished and only through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who began a good work (in each one of our children) will prefect it!
We must adopt faith to believe that God himself will provide a great reward for us as described in the Hebrews passage above. He is faithful. “Without faith it is impossible to please God…” (Hebrews 11:6) We may not see any fruit for years to come, and yet the reward will come, even if it only comes in eternal rewards!
Let us adopt Jesus’ prayer which he prayed on behalf of His disciples: “I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). As Sally continues: “Our children will be tempted to stumble. No matter how diligent our training, how inviting our home, how deep our wisdom, our children will be tempted and must learn to develop their own faith. Yet, as mothers, with God’s strength and companionship, we can be champions for their souls and walk with them through their times of temptation and struggle. We can support them in prayer, encourage them through the Word, and love them as Christ love Peter and the other disciples.” (page 229)
What practical ways can we gird ourselves up in our mother?
1. Step back and take a bigger view of what is happening – before getting stressed or overly anxious about a certain situation, stand back and get a little more perspective. Refresh yourself in the Word!
2. Keep a sense of humor at the forefront – the more you laugh at your difficulties, the less power they will have over you!
3. Enlist allies in your mission of motherhood – spend time with other mothers to encourage and refresh one another in the task.
4. Seek the company and advice of older women – get plenty of wisdom from those who have gone before you!
5. Take time to meet your own basic needs – take time to rest, read, take a short trip, and just fill yourself with the Lord’s grace again. Rotate with other moms to serve each other in providing these opportunities for refreshment.
“It is not perfection that God expects of mothers. There is no perfect personality that does the job best…God designed mothers to partner with him in his eternal work, and he has promised to reward our faith and our faithfulness…It is for the children’s sake that we give our lives. we are protecting future generations that they might be strong for the battle of life. We are the real, in the flesh, tangible picture of God’s loving hands, strong arms of protection, and encouraging words of hope to our children.” (page 232)
Here is one final quote from Carolyn Mahaney in her book, Feminine Appeal, summing it up:
“The world may not applaud us for wiping running noses, driving in carpools, or talking with our teenager into the wee hours of the morning. And until they are trained, our children might not thank us either. But as we set aside our own selfish desires and glorify God by joyfully serving our children, we are pursuing true greatness according to the Bible. Let us do so with tenderness, affection, and with a smile!”
been following your blog for 3 days now and i must say i am beginning to like your post. and now how do i sign up for your blog?
I am so sorry I missed your book study. I just found you blog. Thanks for all the work you do. Linda
I have to say that biblical parenting is the biggest job I have ever undertaken and sometimes it does seem overwhelming. But God is so good and continues to renew my spirit and reveal beautiful fruit in my children.
One thing that I have been thinking about recently is how patient God is with us – in my case even though I was saved at a young age it took many more years to truly begin to put into action so much of God’s Word and begin to strip away my own idols of selfishness and a need for control to allow God to make some serious progress in my heart.
So I am trying to remember that as we tackle sin issues with our children – that when it seems to just be getting better and then makes an appearance that is stronger than ever. Patience. If I am supposed to be giving my children an example of the relationship they will someday have with Jesus, then patience is not an option and I need supernatural strength in order to model that for them. And I also need the Cross for the many times that I will fail.
I ran across this blog recently and have only followed it for a couple of days but here is a quote:
“Our spiritual strength begins to be drained when we stop lifting our eyes to Him. Our stamina is sapped, not so much through external troubles surrounding us but through problems in our thinking. ”
(the full article can be found here: http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/11/24/devotion.aspx?year=2008)
Just like I tell my children countless times that of course they cannot obey mommy and daddy in their own strength, I also need to listen to those words. When I lose my focus and lower my eyes focusing not on God, but my own frustrations, I will lose my footing. My prayer is that God will reveal this to me promptly so I can correct it and get back on track to this beautiful act of servanthood that is raising our little arrows.
GREAT book, and I think it is one that does need to be reread. I don’t think you can be too intentional about striving to have a godly home and a godly family.
Hey, I noticed you have not posted your meal plans lately? Wondering why? I enjoyed those! I love your blog and am praising the Lord for showing you so much at such a young age!
Funny…I didn’t think anyone had missed them. You are the first to inquire! Glad you were finding them enjoyable. I actually was a little too overloaded to post menu plan and my recap of the book study on the same day…so I took a brief break. I will pick up again soon now that the book study is over.
Sounds like a great study.. The message at my church was actually about the same thing yesterday.