Mother's Day 2011 has been the best ever! My 7 year old son told me I looked beautiful in the dress I wore to church and lunch. I got a Styrofoam cup full of seeds from my youngest daughter. My nine year old son gave me a mini neck massage when we waited patiently in line at the Outback as his gift. My oldest daughter snuck around in "All Things Write" to buy me a coffee mug. She insisted that I opened it last night so I could use it this morning. It has a verse on it....she said she picked that one because the others had saying like "Hot Stuff" on them and etc. She knew I would like the one with the verse. Perhaps her knowing that in itself is the best gift of all!!! She knows I would rather sip my morning coffee from a cup ordained with the Word than be a HOT STUFF any day....oh, my kids crack me up.
Although today has been a JOY, if we are really honest and take a chance by being REAL, motherhood can be a challenge. It is a challenge! I have been told too that it does not get easier when your kids reach a certain age. I visit with women often who have grown sons and daughters. There concerns for their children are just like mine. Motherhood is a job that does not ever end.
What if we were honest about how we really feel:
I am so tired, just slap worn out, can't go another minute without falling down!
Can I please have a REDO because I just blew it with my kid?
I am so alone in this. I am a single Mom.
I did not sign up for this. The pain and grief I feel in this stage of motherhood are literally unbearable.
Really now, my child just did what?
This is not quite what I had planned.
You mean to tell me that this one little infant can take this much work?
I know I am the mother of a grown up, but he/she is not acting like an adult.
Do I get in the car and go...or sit here and pray?
I can't seem to LET GO! I am holding onto my kindergartner, my child who is about to get married, or even my 40 something kid who is going through a hard time.
Is this my payback from my own childhood and teen years? WOW, I should have listened to my parents....
AND...my personal favorite at the moment, I am such a mess myself that I wonder how I can mother my children?
Right about the time that I want to throw in the towel or hit someone with it who walks by the kitchen sink, The Lord seems to say to me...GOOD! GIVE UP! I never intended for you to do it alone anyway. Let me help.
There is a verse in Mark 6:31 that really sums up to me how He wants to help me with my many duties. Jesus told his disciples to "Come with me by yourself to a quiet place and get some rest." They had been out working so hard, spreading the good news, and they were completely FRAZZLED it seems. Sound familiar? Motherhood is good news and it is the most important job we will ever have, but it also can make us FRAZZLED! I picture myself at times on merry go round that just will not stop until Jesus reaches out and grabs me, pulls me off, and quiets my soul with His gentle, calm hand getting me back on track.
When we spend time with Jesus during prayer time, reading His Word, talking a walk outside, or even just by reciting a verse during the dishes or a diaper change, He DOES SPEAK! He will give you a Word. He will give you a practical word too. It may be spank or hug, forgive or forget, maybe even step back and let me take over. I also know the Lord can speak and say change the schedule, refocus, and REST!
There is not an app on the I PHONE and the latest magazine on the stand at the grocery store will only offer temporary relief or rest. Our only HOPE is in the Word. I asked a few women for a verse that really has stood the test through time that they pray and believe for their children.
Psalms 138:8 says "The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; your Love, O Lord, endures forever - do not abandon the works of your hands."
Another Mom relies on Proverbs 1:7. It says "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge."
Isaiah 54:13 says "All of your sons will be taught by the Lord and great will be your children's peace."
1 Thessalonians 5:24 reads "The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it."
I started a new journal in 2011 that I am writing verses I come across to pray for my family. That has been the main focus of my time with the Lord. I am praying His Word and trusting in Him to honor His Word. Wow! What a difference it has made. Even when I totally GOOF up and I do so often, His word does not return VOID.
I can not stress enough too that we need to pray the Word OUT LOUD. It is proven that we believe what we hear our own voice say more than anyone else. Instead of me hearing my voice state all of the concerns, gripes, worries, and fears that I sometimes have about my children, I SO desire to hear myself read the Word and speak those Words of life over the lives of my children.
When the Lord give you a word, do not let go of it! Do not let anyone steal it. Do not give up! The devil will try to take it from you. Your own kids may even look at you and behave in a way that can take that word from you, but do not let it go, dear Mother! Stand on it. Believe it! Pray it into their life and trust the Lord to do His work.
What happens when we believe the Word and stand on what the Lord tells us? I go to a conversation that took place between Mary and Elizabeth in Luke 1:45. When Mary and Elizabeth, both expectant mothers, get in the same room, Elizabeth said to Mary "Blessed woman, who believed what God said, believed every word would come true."
As this Mother's Day comes to a close, I just have to ask:
Will we seek the Lord and read His Word?
Will we spend time with Him daily?
Will we get to a quiet place with Him and rest?
Will we claim a verse for ourselves and for our family members?
Will we stand on that word?
Will we refuse to give up?
Will we pray that verse OUT LOUD?
Will we hold onto the promise that we find?
Will be be blessed because we believe the Lord?
Will we believe EVERY word will come true?
Will we allow the Lord through all of this to change us, alter us, mold and make us into the women and mothers He wants us to be?
If my children were surveyed today, they would say that I am the BEST MOM to them because I jump on the trampoline, cook fish sticks really well (as if it is a hard job), help them with the chickens, let them eat on Fridays in the living room, and I on occasion drive through DQ for a Blizzard. I will take those awards with a smile and keep on praying that when asked what matters the most to their Mom...their answer would NOT be softball, baseball, dance, a clean house, clothes, jewelry, a tidy car, or a perfectly planned vacation. I pray they will say what matters the most to my Mom in life is JESUS. Just that one word will do, they can keep it short and sweet... Jesus.
