Happy Mother’s Day!

‘For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well….

‘You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.’

1 Timothy 1:5, 3:14–15

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God entrusts mothers with the stewardship of our children’s lives. We are called by God to love our children and to rear them to know and love the Lord. Children learn the most from the one who spends the most time with them. That’s an undeniable fact. What children learn of love and trust and relationships, and how they grow in comprehension and understanding of the world will primarily come from whoever is spending time with them. For children there is no such thing as quality time, there is only time.

Being home with children is a very necessary, worthwhile, and, in our society, courageous thing to do. Scripture enjoins women to love our children and to be workers at home. The church has lost sight of the importance of motherhood and home and family and has bought into the cultural notion that a woman must have a career. In the organizing of a women’s ministry too frequently we have forgotten and don’t think through or plan the ministry of married women clearly outlined in Scripture; our children are suffering.

“Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands so that the word of God will not be dishonored.”

Titus 2:3–5

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I know families can take a financial hit when mom is home with the children. The pressure of materialism and hearing things such as you’re wasting your time and education from family members can be difficult to handle. Yet I’ve seen the consequences of a mother’s working career, and I know that easy finances don’t keep heartbreak and estrangement from the door.

Motherhood can be draining, exhausting, tiresome, and frustrating, but times of bonding and mothering are precious blessings. Smiles, laughter; first words, first steps; there are so many things that you will want to be the one to experience. Watching your child grow and learn are moments that can never be regained. Children are not only a stewardship given to us from God—children are also a gift from God. Enjoy the blessings that your children are, and the blessings that your children give to you.

May the Lord bless you as you are a mother to your children.

May the Lord comfort those of you who have lost children or are estranged from your children.

May the Lord strengthen those of you who have children in turmoil.

May those of you without children be blessed by those whom you have mothered in their time of need.

And for those of you who have been forsaken by your own mother:

“But Zion said, ‘The LORD has forsaken me,
And the Lord has forgotten me.’
‘Can a woman forget her nursing child
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.
Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me.’ ”