A Mother's Role

  Mothers handle many facets of life. It is truly the essence of our purpose. We are multi-taskers in every sense of the word. We create, cocoon and direct. We maintain, soothe and correct. We balance, nourish and love. We juggle, keeping all the plates rotating smoothly. We point out the way and pray that it is heeded.

  Certainly as I look back on my years as a (not-so-young) mother, I am able to see the mistaken direction, the misinterpretation and misjudgment of all things God, the utter exhaustion, the confusion (caused, I am sure now, by the enemy), and the impatience. All of those Proverbs 31 characteristics that would have caused my son to “rise and call [me] blessed,” might very well have been on vacation during those years. Often we lose sight of God's plan in the midst of living.

  John the Baptist embodied all that God desires (of all of us). He did not lose sight of his one purpose on earth. In Matthew 3:11 John spoke to the Pharisees and Sadducees, “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come One Who is more powerful than I, Whose sandals I am not fit to carry.” His humble finger pointed to the only One we are to point to. Even in the midst of trials, we are to remember this: Repent daily and point to HIM!

  If we lead with a humble and repentant heart, our children will surely notice and follow. If we remember that we are to surrender our lives to God to “produce fruit in keeping with repentance,” (Mat. 3:8), our children will surely produce similar fruit. So, first we approach our roles as mothers with humble repentance. We are the ones our precious children look to for guidance in the home. We are the emotional tone-setters.

  Someone recently said to me that what they hated most about Christians was that they said one thing and their lives reflected something completely different. The love of Christ, via salvation through Jesus Christ, is simply not bleeding over into our words or actions apparently.

It is clear that we are not placed on this earth by accident. Mothers (actually, all Christians), have the goal of presenting the Gospel with their purified and purpose-driven lives to those who do not know Him. Titus 2:7-8 explains, “In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.”

 

God desires this. It is His oh, so, clever way of presenting Himself as Jesus with skin to a needy, hurting and lost world, but especially to our children looking to us with their innocent eyes.

Lastly, when we finally lay our tired heads upon the pillow of night, will we be able to say that we have staved off all that has been hurled at us by the enemy of our souls? Titus 2:11-15 explains our role in its entirety, “For the Grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and Godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed Hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.”

  That's it. We ultimately desire what God desires and then live it daily. If we thought our roles as mothers were full enough…well, think again…there is so much more---we are the purveyors of all that God implants in our lives. What an incredible knighting!

 

Happy Mother's Day!

 

C 03/07/2010 M. LaPointe