Our lives as mothers are often filled with hurry driven by chores, lists, and a multitude of responsibilities all clamoring “Do it now!” in our spirits. There are so many ideals we feel we absolutely must live up to: clean houses, ordered lives, and children who accurately know math and Scripture and play their instruments perfectly. In the face of so much urgent need, our “Martha” minds often overpower our “Mary” hearts as we contemplate how to get it all done.
Yet these insistent demands and ideals, the constant busyness and bustle, are not what will actually reach the hearts of our children and shape them into beautiful souls. Our focus as mothers should not just be on making our children behave, but on helping them become.
Christ did not create disciples who, because of their love for Him, were willing to die for Him simply because He gave them an impersonal list of moral rules and commandments for life. What He gave them was the gift of His own very present life. They experienced His love intimately throughout the moments of their days.
He laid down His life, not just in death, but also daily with the souls He was shaping. This is what mothers do as well, laying down our lives for our children in order to create disciples for Christ with deep, rich souls. Paul told us to love “just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma” (Ephesians 5:2)
When children feel loved and cherished by the parents who brought them into the world, they have enduring stability and a security that provides them with groundwork for understanding the God of the universe who so loves us.
Love is the most important foundation for learning to believe in God. It is the foundation stone of true friendship, marriage, and parenting. As our children are honored with our time, words, caresses, and nurture, life is deposited in their souls. They learn love not only as a personal value, but even more as a tangible experience.
To read more about this, get your copy of Your Mom Walk With God.
