In general, mother’s want what’s best for our children. As mothers of infants and young children we instinctively know their needs. We diaper and feed them often knowing the tone of their cry or anticipating their need before they even let us know they have one! Mom’s become expert fixers. We fix cuts and scrapes with a magical kiss. We fix a world of things with bandaids, duct tape, and superglue. With words of tenderness and encouragement we fix broken hearts and friendships. We guide and direct sibling rivalries and help our children become friends as they grow up. Yes, moms are the great fixers! Lately, our granddaughter, Emma, has started saying, “I just want my mommy!” It’s not that her mother would do anything differently than Jeff or I, it’s just that she’s the mommy and mommy’s have the ability to make things alright!
Mom’s are created by God to be nurturing as he is nurturing. We often make the most of every opportunity and use it as a teachable moment. Each situation our child faces is an opportunity to prepare them for their future. We repeat ourselves time and again so that our children have every chance to internalize the truths that we value and wish to instill in them. I’ve heard from my own children on many occasions, “Mom, I know. You’ve told me that a hundred times.” But as I’ve studied scripture, I find God also repeating himself. If it’s important to our health and welfare, you can be sure that it is repeated throughout the Bible. The more important it is, the more it is repeated. So, moms, keep repeating!
It is also a mom’s job to support, create guidelines and set boundaries for our children, and we take this seriously from the very start. Cribs have sides to protect our infants. Outlets are covered and baby gates in stalled in every doorway and staircase! We put fences in our yards and guardrails on the sides of beds. Mom’s set bedtimes and curfews. We check homework and monitor friendships. We want the best for our children, and we take action to help it happen.
Scripture is full of mom’s who wanted the best for their children. Some of these mothers are shown for their wisdom, some shown for the mistakes, but all are their for our encouragement and direction.
Moses’ mother set him adrift in a tar-lined basket to save him from certain death. He is found and taken to the palace. By the grace of God, Moses’s mother is called to nurse and care for her son! God had a plan for Moses’ life was not going to be stopped! Moses’ mother grew in faith as she set her son adrift. His mother played a huge role in God’s plan for her son.
Hannah took Samuel at the age of 2 and dedicated him at the temple. She sacrificed life with her son to see that he was trained in the ways and Word of the Lord during his formative years. Her sacrifice lead to the leadership of a nation. Hannah grew in faith as she handed her son over to the Lord!
Sarah could not bear children, yet God promised her a son. 75 years after the promise, she had Isaac. As Isaac grew, he was taunted and mocked by his half brother, Ishmael. Sarah loved Isaac and couldn’t bear the hurt that Ishmael was bringing to her son. (You know how she feels moms! When someone hurts our babies, momma bears come out fighting!) So she had Ishmael and his mother sent away. Yet, wasn’t it Sarah’s idea to have Hagar bear this son in the first place? Sometimes, mom’s want what’s best, but we forget to wait on the Lord and take things into our own hands. Despite Sarah’s mistake, God was faithful to Isaac and Ishmael both. And, Sarah learned the faithfulness of her God!
Rebekah is another mother in scripture that was imperfect. God had said that her older son would serve the younger son. And when time for the blessing of Isaac’s inheritance came, Rebekah made sure that Jacob received the blessing even though it took deception on her part. Despite his mother’s mistake, God had a plan for Jacob’s life and he was faithful to see it through. And Rebekah learned lessons about favoritism’s damage and watched as God made Jacob the father of 12 sons, the tribes of Israel. She saw the faithfulness of God!
Timothy’s mother and grandmother lived their lives faithfully serving God and instilled within Timothy a love of the Lord. They wanted this son, this grandson to walk closely with the Lord. We aren’t privy to their mistakes or good choices, all we know is that these woman were women of faith and it lead to a ministry of magnitude through Timothy.
As I thought over this group of women, I saw women who wanted the best for their children. I saw women who sacrificed, took action, made mistakes and were sinful at times as they learned to be moms.
I noticed 2 themes throughout all of these stories.
- God has a plan and a purpose and that will not be changed. Yes, we can create distractions and delays by rushing ahead of God, but Psalm 139:13 tells us, “For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well… Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” God has a plan for us and for our children! Regardless if your mother was the best or worst mom of the year, God has a plan for your life and he will not let any circumstance come to you that is not designed to draw you closer to him.
- We can teach our children, but God also gives us children to teach us! As these women raised their children they all learned of the faithfulness of God. They learned lessons of patience and perseverance. Being a mom, means letting go and allowing God to work in our children! Yes, we are great fixers, but God is the ultimate fixer. We need to raise our children to need him more than they need us. Which leads me to the last mom in scripture for today:
Mary! She was chosen by God to bear his only son. He knew she was perfect to raise him and allow him to go through all that he had to go through in order to learn to love his father well. In order to save us from our sin he had to learn of submission to his Father. Mary learned lessons too. She learned lessons of God’s love and faithfulness by simply being a mom. Jesus road was not an easy one. It was a road of rejection and mockery. It was a road of pain and death. Which leads me to draw one final conclusion about motherhood and present one challenge that God has put on my heart….. It’s not our job to be the fixer! It’s not our job to rescue our children! It’s our job to be faithful to our God and allow him to use us as an instrument of his love and guidance in raising the children he’s given us.
Many times we want to save our children from struggles and pain. We feel that the easy road is the best road. We want to rescue them from their own poor choices. When the better option is to allow them to struggle (of course with our guidance and love) and allow them to cry out to God for his healing and his rescue.
What if Mary had charged into the temple and made excuses for Jesus behavior as he spoke out of turn? What if she had bailed Jesus out of Pilot’s courts because she didn’t want him to suffer?
Moms- we feel our job is to raise happy children, but God wants us to raise holy children and those 2 ideals are often contrary to one another. We must let our children face natural consequences. We must allow failures and disappointments because ultimately we want exactly what David says in Psalm 7:7
“I cried out to God for help;
I cried out to God to hear me!”
As a mom, I’ve seen failure break a perfectionist into a child of dependence on God’s grace rather than their own self-reliance.
I’ve seen injustice create strength and a need for God to fix what momma couldn’t fix.
I’ve seen brokenness and betrayal create a heart of compassion and tenderness.
And I’ve seen loss create the gain of a greater God!
and none of these came on the road of comfort and ease!
Moms- you have God's permission to stop rescuing and fixing things for you child!
My challenge to you today is this-
What is your child (or perhaps you) facing today that might not be a crisis, but rather a catalyst to dependence upon and submission to the Lord?
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