I was recently speaking to a group of preschool moms, and this is how it went…
I no longer have preschool-age children, but I promise you that I’m still sleep-deprived and coffee-addicted. For those looking for more hope than this, there are a few sweet years in there when the nights are sleep-filled, and the problems are still child-sized.
Parenting isn’t for the faint of heart. It is a mission field that is day in and day out, 24-7, and all-consuming. In the middle of the chaos and the mundane, it is easy to lose sight of the weight this role carries.
Lisa Welchel says it best, “Our children identify us with God. We, as parents, represent Him to our kids. As they observe us each day, they create a picture of Him in their minds and hearts. They may paint an angry tyrant, waiting to pounce on their tiniest mistake, or they may sketch a God so little and far removed as to barely exist. Sadly, some children even draw God to be their own size.”
Through our parenting, our children learn how to relate to God. The stakes have never been higher, and the end result can have tremendous influence. But most days, it just feels hard and unimportant.
Ultimately, our existence is meant to bring glory to God… and our parenting journey should be no different. We are human and feeble, so there will be plenty of grace needed, but the end goal should always and forever be to glorify God.
As we nurture our children, we should be pointing them to Christ.
Matthew 7:14 it says “How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.“
The road to life. It’s narrow. It’s difficult.
What life is Jesus talking about here?
In verse prior He says, the gate is wide that leads to destruction.
How do you think that applies to parenting?
This is a high-stakes endeavor. Eternal life is the prize.
Motherhood is a calling with eternal value. A calling that influences the next generation for Christ.
But how often does motherhood actually FEEL this valuable?
Most days, it doesn’t feel grand or purpose-filled. It just feels hard and thankless.
Fighting with my preschooler to eat her dinner, is there really eternal purpose in that? How does that provide opportunities for Godly nurturing?
Or when he refuses to go to sleep for what feels like the millionth night in a row?
Or when she follows me everywhere I go and I never have a single second to myself, like I can’t even complete a thought. How is that tied to a grand calling?
That exhaustion. Those battles. The days that feel like the same thing, that never changes.
Jesus gets it.
Sometimes I think we forget that Jesus walked this same earth we live on, he lived our same struggles, and he understands.
We read in the gospels about the crowds pressing in and Jesus desperate for a break. He would sneak away in the quiet to pray. In the account where Jesus calmed the storm, he was so exhausted from sharing the gospel and healing, that a violent storm didn’t wake him up.
He. Was. Tired.
And then, after his disciples woke him up, he needed to teach them about faith.
This holy man, our God, that walked the earth in human form, He knows what it’s like to be needed all the time, to have people take and never give, to be so exhausted he just wanted to sleep, to sneak off to a quiet place to pray, but the crowds still find him. He understands.
There is a verse in Galatians that should probably become our Motherhood Mantra…
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.“ (6:9)
We have an amazing opportunity to shape little people in the most biblical way. And one day, those little people will hopefully share the love of Christ with the world around them.
When little miss won’t eat her broccoli… we get to teach her that we are grateful for the provision and those who prepared it. Mom and dad can model for her that sometimes in life, we don’t like the meal God has provided us, but he knows what is best for us, and we should still be thankful. How you engage in this moment with her will ultimately determine how she views her Heavenly Father.
When little man refuses to sleep yet again. We get to invite God into our exhaustion and ask Him to fill the voids with grace. He is sufficient. And we can work to lovingly set boundaries and model how our Heavenly Father does the same for us. He knows our needs, and while we know rest is good for little mister even when he doesn’t want to, God knows that sometimes what we need isn’t what we want.
And when the day is filled with a never-ending shadow of our mini-me…. We get to lean into the noise and find the patience to model just how patient our Heavenly Father is.
It may not feel it…but this job called Motherhood is everything. This is our mission field. We get to die to self and let God mold us into being more like Him, and in the process, model to our littles just how awesome God really is.
“Motherhood is an invitation to grow in godliness which ultimately leads to God’s glory and our good.” Gospel-Centered Motherhood
And in Isaiah, we read, “I will strengthen you; I will help you: I will hold onto you with my righteous right hand.” (41:10)
You have all the tools you need to be the exact mother God wanted for your little people. One who loves Him first and shows them just how amazing life can be as we journey through the narrow gate.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Rachel Rae Anderson
Featured Image by Jupi Lu from Pixabay
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