You’ll never convince me that anybody works harder than a mother. Parenting is a joy-filled experience, of course, but it also requires a tremendous amount of effort. The legendary writer, John Steinbeck, once put it quite succinctly. “It takes courage,” he wrote, “to raise children.”
On the lighter side, the comedian Bill Cosby has always been deft at reminding us to not take ourselves too seriously. “No matter how calmly you try to referee,” he once said, “parenting will eventually produce bizarre behavior, and I'm not talking about the kids. Their behavior is always normal.”
With that as a backdrop, I want to share with you an incredibly perceptive letter that’s addressed to all stay-at-home moms. Circumstances might not permit you to be in that category, but I hope you’ll read along all the same. It was penned by a gentleman named Trevin Wax. He’s the managing editor of the Gospel Project as part of LifeWay Christian Resources.
When you’re done reading, I hope you’ll let me know how it struck you.
**
Dear Stay-at-Home Mom,
You are a gift of God to your husband and your kids.
But you don’t always feel that way, do you?
There’s a low-level feeling of guilt that creeps into your heart from time to time. Sometimes it bubbles over into tears, usually on lonely, difficult days.
You scan blogs and read books about being a good mom. You find some helpful tidbits here and there, often from women who are grandmothers now. Women you can learn from but who seem to have forgotten the struggle. They seem to have it all together.
In your heart, you want to be the kind of mom who trains up kids to make a difference for the kingdom. You know it’s an honor to be entrusted with these kids. You know you’ve only got one shot. You want to be the mom who teaches them the Bible, models how to pray, and trains them up in the fear of the Lord.
But most of the time you feel like you’re barely holding it all together.
Your house cleaning can’t keep up with your kids’ mess-making.
The kids embarrass you by acting up right when your guests arrive.
Your husband doesn’t get just how worn out you are by the end of the day.
You come to the end of your patience. You lose your temper. Then you feel worse.
The last thing you consider yourself to be is a “good mom.” And you think to yourself, It’ll be a miracle if my kids turn out okay.
And – surprisingly – that’s right where God wants to meet you. The place where you admit your powerlessness and your need for Him.
It’s only by God’s grace that any kid grows up to be a force for the kingdom.
You see, there are no perfect kids and no perfect mothers. No matter what you read in blogs, see in magazines, and learn in books. There are sinful kids and sinful moms and dads.
And the only thing greater than both is the grace of God. The God who says “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The God who loves to forgive, to transform, and empower.
God loves you – not because you are a good mother but just because you are His precious child.
God loves you – not because you’ve mastered all the skills of parenting but because He has.
It’s divine grace that will transform your parenting – not guilt.
It’s grace that will keep you going and serving and scrubbing when you’re exhausted and worn out.
It’s grace that will conquer your feelings of inadequacy and remind you of God’s love for you in Christ.
It’s grace that goes for the heart of your kids, not just their behavior.
God has demonstrated the fullness of His love for you through the cross of His Son, even while you were still a sinner.
He has promised you His presence.
He has spoken His approval over you in Christ.
He is the perfect Father who delights in you as a daughter.
Find in Him your Treasure and Joy. Be to others what He is to you.
So walk in freedom. Let Him hold you together when everything seems to be falling apart.
Bask in His unfailing love for you. And rest in His promise of power.
4 comments:
This moved me to tears. I have been feeling completely inadequate lately at my "job!" The house is still very much in a state of moving limbo, we've been eating crap because I am so exhausted and overwhelmed, and I feel guilty about all the time I'm spending trying to get us settled that is taking away from my time with the kids. Thanks for this reminder Wen!
Wendi, I did not read this till today, but oh how I needed it. Jumping back into life here has, at times, made me feel like a crazy woman running around and serving no one, being able to do nothing with excellence. I am so thankful for His grace this day and every morning. Fresh starts!!
Love this!!!! =)
Steph
Ditto what Jenny wrote!
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