“By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches” (Prov. 24:3-4, NASB).
For thousands of years and in a myriad of cultures, women have forged identity, unconditional love and vast purpose in the calling of motherhood. From Eve to Sarah, Leah to Hannah, and Elizabeth to Mary, the Scriptures are filled with the stories of the heart of a woman who was given the divine opportunity to raise the next generation by the call of the Father.
When I get to heaven, I can’t wait to sit down with all of the mothers who went before me and ask them the questions that mothers desire to ask: How did you milk the goats, manage a clean tent, and keep a toddler away from scorpions in the desert? What did you do when Abraham took Isaac up the mountain? Were you embarrassed when John chose to wear camel hair and eat locusts as a teenager? However, the heart that I most desire to inspect is that of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.
“But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19, NASB).
Inside the soul of every mother lies a heart that becomes a repository of sweet memories, hard lessons, glorious victories, ordinary days, glaring failures and God’s grace over the years of mothering. This tender heart that has given birth to the future of mankind or has lovingly adopted the seeds of the next generation also develops rooms of unsurpassed greatness and quiet strength. These are the rooms of a mother’s heart.
In every generation, mothers must answer the call to be what no one else can and do what no one else is able to do for their children. Mothers must accept the biblical call to motherhood.
“A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.” — Cardinal Gaspard Mermillod
Is there a calling that is more significant or more glorifying to God than motherhood? I think not! Our culture believes that a woman loses her identity in motherhood and that the years spent wiping noses, changing diapers and reading books are the wasted years of a woman’s life. My friend, nothing could be farther from the truth. If you want to change the world, then decide that you will passionately mother the ones you have been given to raise.
Let me hasten to say that I realize that women must often work outside the home in order to pay the bills, save for college and feed their children. Please be kind to yourself as a mother and as a woman whether you are able to stay home, work part-time or work full-time. The chief principle should be to give your whole heart to your children in the times that you are together.
“Home is the nicest word there is.” — Laura Ingalls Wilder
When you truly understand the deep purpose of motherhood, the joy will come rushing into your home and into your heart. You, as a mother, are a woman of eternal and perpetual purpose! You are raising the Daniels, Esthers and Peters of the next generation, so do it with unbridled joy! The most expansive work you will ever complete will be among the ordinary people whom you know the best and love the most.
This is what I can guarantee you: For every long night, God gives His own strength to weary mothers who simply ask for it. For every early and daunting morning, He delivers His faithfulness to mothers who spend time with Him. Cry if you must, knowing that even your tears are precious to Him and not one of them goes unnoticed in the throne room of God. Every prayer you have prayed has been heard, sweet mama. He has inclined His very ear over the gates of heaven and has given you His undivided attention. Every desire you have whispered to your heavenly Father is remembered. Your desires are of utmost importance to Him.
You are enough, dear mother. You are more than enough because you have the Father. {eoa}
Carol McLeod is a bestselling author and popular speaker at women’s conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor.
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