Mothering At His Feet

A mother has great significance over her children. They will either "arise and call her blessed" (Proverbs 31:28) or they will "causeth shame and bringeth reproach" (Proverbs 19:26).  That leaves me a great responsibility of what kind of mother I am to my children and who they become. How can I be a mom whom they will call blessed? How can I prevent them causing me shame and contempt? With anything, I need to understand what it means exactly to be a "mother" and what I can learn from God's Word in regards to what He has to say about being one to these children that He has given me.

After spending some time in the 1828 Dictionary defining "Mother" and key words within the definition, I came up with this to describe who a mother is:

"A female who has borne a son or daughter as her offspring or one who has raised a son or daughter as a parent. She gives parental advice and raises those weak in knowledge, experience and judgment and it is her duty to support, protect and educate them; a child becomes a product of her. This is a name given to a woman who gives concern, kind attention, cautious care to preserve & not to injure with a softness of expression to another.”

Convicting...you think! To know that my children will become a product of ME and that I am to give kind attention and express myself softly to them. I will be honest and say that my mothering does not hold true to that as often as it should. I am continually in prayer and asking for the Holy Spirit's help with this. To think that they will become like me...do I really want them to? This is why it's so important to reflect and meditate on the life of Jesus. He is the best parental model we have and I need to always learn from Him. I struggle with my flesh so much that I need His help daily to remind me of my selfishness and allow the Lord to help me reflect Jesus to my children. But, how often am I not...that I'm scared to admit.

Thankfully, I can allow my children to see my faults and I can show humility by asking them for forgiveness. They can have a better understanding of "forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye" (Colossians 3:13).  I am also thankful that I can teach them God's law to "honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee" and encourage them that He has given a promise following that command..."that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee" (Deuteronomy 5:16).

I pray that the love of Christ shows through me more than I am aware and that they remember me as "a joyful mother of children" (Psalms 113:9). I also pray that when they are grown, our relationship will be close like that of Naomi and Ruth. The Lord has blessed me with an incredible relationship with my Mom and I desire to have that with my children too. He has healed so much from the past and I give all the praise to Him knowing that He is the healer in all things. That no matter what we go through, He is there to help me be the Mother that He created me to be as I continually sit at His feet. I am so thankful for the blessing of these children that He has given me and am so honored that He has allowed me to be their Mother. Even when I feel guilty and so far from perfect, Jesus encourages me to "be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48)....because He see's that in me even when I don't!