Each of us has a deep longing to be loved, to have our lives validated, to know that we matter and have a purpose--a place to belong. It is a longing in our hearts because God put it there. Family is supposed to give roots, strength, security, stability, and direction.
God also gave mothers the ability to build a strong home culture,, so that these deep needs would be met.
Building an environment of love, grace, belonging, so that each child who is welcomed into her home, will provide a wellspring in their hearts that says, "I have a history. I am a Clarkson (or Smith, or Martinez, or Krasawski), and we love each other, we belong to each other, we will always have stability because we are a part of this family and circle of love, spiritual strength, and grace."
Shaping a Family culture like this takes time and intention and does not just happen by chance.
A child who is given a place to build roots, foundations of moral strength, affection, and unconditional love and forgiveness, a safe haven in which to grow, can carry stability in their souls their whole lives, and will find the strength to face the trials of life and the challenges.
However, a child can be given all the experiences or material things the world has to offer, but if his soul is starving or empty or filled with the anger of rejection or even simple passivity, which communicates worthlessness to him, he will have difficulty filling this cavernous hole the rest of his life and will look for love and validation in all the wrong places.
A mother's love and legacy is one of the most powerful influences in the world and will indeed determine the strength and history of a culture. But to provide such a legacy in the lives of our children requires a choice. The choice is to serve, give, train, instruct, provide, and encourage. This choice will have eternal consequences, because the souls of the children raised in such a home will be strong, beautiful, spiritual, healthy and purposefully formed. Choices have consequences.
God’s Word, you see, gives us a map or plan for the family so that we might better understand what He had in mind for us. Few things will last after we die, but our children and their children will live throughout eternity. What we do as mothers, therefore, has eternal significance, so it’s especially important to understand God’s original intentions in this regard. Exploring His design for families and for motherhood can not only help us understand what has gone wrong, but also how, with God’s help, we can move closer to the joyful, fulfilling, and vitally important role He intended for us from the very beginning.