But truth be told, I’m finding that it’s easy to lose sight
of the ministry aspect of motherhood. It’s
hard to feel like I’m doing actual, productive, holy, righteous ministry when I
change the poopy diapers, or clean up the spit up, or disinfect the accident
from not quite making it to the potty (even though I asked her 400 times if she
had to go), or stop the screaming tug-of-war match over the MagnaDoodle, or
fold the 9,000th load of laundry.
It’s easy to feel bogged in the job.
The house you cleaned during naptime will get dirty again, behind that
clean diaper is one more round of stinky blessing to change, there’s always one
more spill, and one more thing to do over again without your kids ever even
acknowledging that you worked your tail off today…for them. And you didn’t mind the work too much because
you love them, but you sure feel tired. However
despite your exhaustion, you are thrilled about those mommy perks! You love to pucker up for kisses, squeeze
tightly for hugs, read the same book over and over again, sing favorite songs,
and snuggle!!! But, at the end of the
day, you’re spent. And you feel
pressured to hurry up and sleep because tomorrow holds exactly the same
thing. Truthfully, you’re even feeling
too tired to wonder if they saw Jesus in you today.
Surviving sometimes seems like the name of the game in
motherhood. As you lay in bed, you ask
yourself if it was a good day. And you tell
yourself that it was, since all the children survived and you are not dead yet;
so, yeah, that’s a good day.
But to be honest with you, I’m ashamed of that mentality in
myself. Sure, as wives and mothers, we
have jobs that have to be done and responsibilities we have to deal with, which
really are exhausting. But as the
resident children’s ministers in our homes, we should never be more concerned
about the home maintenance than we are about sharing the gospel with our kids.
The responsibility is huge and our burden should be
great. Are we grieving the lostness of our
own children? God has lately renewed in
me the calling to share the gospel daily in my home, not just once but
repeatedly. Does your child understand
that disobedience is sin? They
should. Do they know the penalty for
their sin? They should. Do they know about the sinless One Who came
to pay for it? They should. Do they know how to have a really real change
of heart? They should.
And it is your primary responsibility to tell them.
God did not give you your children as lovely accessories, as
hobbies, as annoyances, or as road blocks, which I know you know. He gave you children in order that you might
glorify Him in your mothering and that you might raise them to be adults who
live to glorify God in all they do.
In Titus 2:3-5, the older women are told to encourage the
younger women to “love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible,
pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, SO THAT THE
WORD OF GOD WILL NOT BE DISHONORED.” (Emphasis mine.)
Do not dishonor God’s Word in your home. You work and serve and labor and clean and
bathe and launder in your home because God has called you to teach eternal
things to your kids. Work in your home
to His glory! And don’t let a day go by
that your kids don’t know what Jesus did for them. He has to be the priority of your service. And
hey, who really cares if instead of dusting the living room or unloading the
dishwasher or mopping the kitchen, you tell your kid about the time you asked
Jesus in your heart? The house can wait…it
will wait…it should wait.
So, whether your pregnant, potty training, coaching t-ball, or
teaching to drive, welcome to the glorious ministry of motherhood!!!
