“The wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.”
Proverbs 14:1
As I prayed about my own life years ago, I realized that because I was a mother, I was automatically under a different set of responsibilities than my unmarried friends or my married friends who had no children. With the privilege of bearing children comes the responsibility to commit wholeheartedly to the care of those children.
As a woman who has enjoyed a career of teaching, speaking, counseling, and writing, I have had to make many difficult decisions to cut my career opportunities in order to focus on my family priorities. However, I have come to realize that embracing God's call to the duties of motherhood doesn't diminish my abilities to use my gifts, strength, and training, but fulfills a part of God's design.
Loving my children, protecting them, and building them into a godly heritage is a life's work worth far more than any money or status I might find in a career. If the mother who gave her children life is not willing to do what it takes to provide security, love, protection, instruction, and stability for her own children, then who will be willing to do so? Many will be orphans in a crowded world, longing for the security they were supposed to find in their own family.
If we want to experience the blessing of God and have a sense of wholeness to our lives: we must seek to understand his original design as clearly as possible. We will then have a map by which to travel toward God's destination. But we need to do more than understand. We also need to commit to living as mothers with undivided hearts—dedicating ourselves fully to the task of building a home and nurturing our children.
What does it mean to build your house or family? In what ways might you tear it down?
Join me today as I share a wonderful story of one way God worked amazingly through a woman who started small, by faith, to care for her children in the mountains of Brazil. The ways God blessed her faith and her hard work is amazing. My sweet friend, Sandra Maddox, joins me to tell the story.
Sandra shares on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/theartofdomesticity/ and You can find her at her beautiful blog by the same name: The Art Of Domesticity
I am so grateful for Sandra and the ways her life has encouraged me through the years of our friendship.
This summer, I am using these two books of mine to discuss the meaning, value, design and discipleship. I hope you will get your copy and follow along.
