Knowing the limitations of my responsibility as a mother has actually been quite freeing to me. I can be God's agent for cultivating the hearts of my children; in fact, I'm supposed to fill that role. But only God can give them life, strength, and divine guidance.

This means my success in life or in motherhood or as a Christian is not dependent on my being perfect, but on my allowing God, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, to work through me to accomplish his purposes. As I depend on him, he who began a good work in me will perfect it (Philippians 1:6). He will do the same for the precious ones he has entrusted to me.

That understanding is one of the finest gifts of faith I can ever give my children. Even as I depend on the Lord, I must help them learn to depend on him. I must use as many ways as I can think of, as Christ did, to convey to them that none of us has to live the Christian life alone. We have Jesus' promise on that, and the Lord is always faithful to keep his promise. He will always be with us—mother and children alike—even to the end of the age.

Read more about this in The Ministry of Motherhood.