In Pursuit of His Call: Notes...The Mission of Motherhood: Touching ...

A Journey Like No Other
Discovering the Mission of Motherhood

But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates. - Proverbs 31:30-31

...what I believe is a profound need of every child: to be loved, cherished, cared for, and protected by her very own mother, whose womb was her first home. And it's not just a need but an important part of God's design for shaping human beings according to his will.

The beautiful design of nature itself shows us that a child grows inside its mother's body hearing the specific sound of her voice, comforted by the beat of her heart, intimately connected to her very being. Upon arrival into the world, the mother's arms are her first cradle, and the mother supplies the first food and comfort and security. Because of the intimacy of that first relationship, the child's heart is naturally open to the mother. Children automatically turn toward their mothers as their first source of protection, love, and spiritual, emotional, and mental support. This is all a part of the design of mother, child, and family as unfolded for us in the Bible - a design that, from the beginning, God pronounced as very good.

...I have also come to believe that motherhood, while demanding, is one of the most fulfilling and meaningful roles a woman can fill.
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A Mother's Journey
For thousands of years the view of motherhood described in the Bible was generally respected in Western culture. Motherhood was seen as a noble and important calling. Women considered themselves blessed to bear many children, and it was considered normal and good for home and family to be the central focus of a woman's life. This is not to say that mothers were always well treated - after all, sin has been with us since the very beginning. But the office of "mother" was usually respected and revered, and it was generally assumed that entire generations were shaped during the time they spent at the mother's knee.

By the time I became a mother, however, the American culture had dramatically redefined the role of motherhood, and the biblical model of motherhood no longer drove the imagination of culture. Somehow, over the course of the last century, traditional motherhood had become a lifestyle option - and to many, a lesser option - rather than a divine calling.
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...in my late twenties, I married Clay. We had been friends for almost eight years and had finally decided to spend our lives together. At this point, he was in seminary preparing for full-time Christian ministry.

I welcomed marriage and rejoiced in finally having a life companion and partner for ministry. I really looked forward to starting a family as well. But I was also fully entrenched in my own identity and independence and my work as a Christian speaker and leader. So two years later, when I became pregnant, I was filled with confusing, diametrically opposed feelings about my role as a mother.

One part of me was absolutely dreamy eyed about the prospect of having my own precious baby to love and care for. But I was also excited and scared and concerned about how this new development might change my life.
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...After twenty hours, two and a half of which she was stuck in the birth canal, Sarah Elizabeth Clarkson made her way into the world - tiny, beautiful, and with meconium-filled lungs.

...I looked at this beautiful, bright-eyed baby girl, and suddenly nothing else in the world seemed important but caring for her and helping her to thrive.

...I simply wanted to be with my daughter as much as possible. I wanted to woo her, love her, care for her, and serve her and find joy in each moment that she required. So when opportunities arose to speak or to teach a women's group, I was very selective and allowed my career to be a secondary choice.
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Before Sarah was five, I had three babe, had moved to Colorado and then to California, had lurched through hundreds of sleepless hours, and had coped with myriad asthma attacks and ear infections and respiratory problems. Chronic exhaustion, a house that seemed perpetually messy, the inevitable stresses of moving so often, and days of "quality time" with little ones who were often fussy and demanding caused me to doubt my sanity! I began to realize that my mothering honeymoon was over and my confusion was back.

What had I gotten myself into? A challenging career suddenly seemed more productive to me because I could measure the results of my work. These precious little ones had endless needs. They were busy little sinful creatures who demanded all of my body, time, life, emotions, and attention! As much as I loved my children, I often felt like a failure. Surely someone else could do a better job with these precious ones than I.
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With overwhelming feelings of discouragement, multitudes of questions, and a deep-felt need to make sense of my life, I began to search for the answers to my questions. I read every book I could get my hands on about family, motherhood, and children. And although I found much that was helpful, my reading also seemed to heighten my confusion. I was amazed at how many conflicting and antithetical views of motherhood and womanhood itself I found even among my fellow evangelical Christians.

I finally decided that I needed to search the Scriptures to find out for myself just what God, the Designer himself, had in mind when he created the role of mother thousands of years ago. This search has been well rewarded. In fact, it changed my life. My personal study of biblical motherhood...has helped me not only to realize that God has an important mission for mothers, but to embrace that mission as a source of deep joy and fulfillment in my own life.

Called to Motherhood?
God designed motherhood to be a deeply meaningful role. We mothers have the opportunity to influence eternity by building a spiritual legacy in the lives of our children. Through our teaching and influence, morality can be learned and modeled, love and kindness are taught and received, purpose and vision are ignited and passed on.

The real ability of a mother to secure such a spiritual legacy is based on the strength of her relationship with her child. As we tenderly care for our children, meeting their needs, teaching them and guiding them, praying for them and modeling our faith, we are also anchoring their hearts to our home, our values, and our beliefs. These ties are built over a period of many years, through the small ways we spend the minutes of our days and the large ways in which we celebrate the momentous events of our lives.

The mother who reaches the heartfelt needs of her children by helping them feel loved and secure, by believing in their dreams, by noticing when they stray and gently steering them back in the right direction, and by teaching them what they need to know to live full and meaningful lives accomplishes a great work for the Lord.

...I have come to picture the heart of each child as a treasure chest. Each chest is empty and needs to be filled with the riches of unconditional love, spiritual nurture, and the emotional heritage of family and traditions; with mental stimulation that comes from excellent sources of truth, morality, and inspiration; with a sense of physical and emotional security; and with guidelines for all of life, including purpose, relationship, and proper behavior.

Each child whose treasure chest is full will have abundant resources on which to draw in the midst of life's demands. As a woman now pushing fifty, I realize that those foundational years in the life of a child - those same years when I sometimes thought I was accomplishing nothing - have a lasting effect on almost every aspect of the rest of that child's life.
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...As important as my role is, and as important as my children are, they are not to be the center of my life, and my central calling is not to motherhood. That would not only make for very selfish children, but it could even become a form of idolatry.

My calling as a mother is the same as any other Christian's: to fulfill God's will for our lives and to glorify him. This means I am to follow the Lord's design for my marriage...I am to be a careful steward of the world in which ?live...
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...Because God has blessed me with a husband and children, a part of his call to me is to follow his plan for families. And that means I am to shepherd the hearts of the children whom he has providentially placed in my care. I am to care for them tenderly and to partner with God and my husband in leading my children to know and love his Word and to follow his will.

This design doesn't mean I have to lose myself in my children's lives. On the contrary, following God's design for living is the true key to finding myself...[S]aying yes to the mission of motherhood has certainly not meant giving up my ministry. To a great extent, it is my ministry.

I will grow into the kind of person God wants me to be as I live out my life in faith and seek to be faithful in my walk with God; as I nurture and honor my commitment to my husband and children and family and home; as I exercise my skills, training, and gifts toward those whom God has placed on my path; as I seek to give to the poor and minister to the needy and those in my neighborhood and church while living a life of bold faith in a great and wonderful God. At the same time, my children, in the context of walking with me through my life, will gain a clear model of how they can live as well.
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...Together we have learned to look at the world and say, "Lord, in the power of your Holy Spirit, what work do you have for our family this year? How can we expand your kingdom? How can we glorify you together?"

Life as a mother, in other words, is more exciting to me now than ever before - especially as I begin to see the fruits of my earlier labors. The foundations that were laid in my children's lives, little by little, have given them the ability now to reach for the sky.

...How thankful I am that God showed me his path so that I can relax in each stage of childhood and find joy in my moments with my sweet ones, knowing that in my acceptance of his call, my children can rest in the peace and security of my commitment to them.

FOR THOUGHT AND REFLECTION
Something to Think About...
God had a design in mind when he created the family. When we follow his instructions and design, we emerge as a productive, flourishing family. God's Word gives us the instruction manual to his design. Consider these verses as you review your own philosophy of motherhood.

1. Psalm 127:1. In the Old Testament, the word house is often used to express the same concept as the English words family or home. What, according to this verse, is the secret to the success of a godly family? What will happen to the work of the house building if parents are not following God's path?

2. Psalm 127:3. What does this verse indicate about God's view of children? When God blesses us with children, why does he consider it a reward? How does this verse contrast with the prevailing view of children in contemporary culture? How does this compare to your own feelings about your children?

3. 1 Thessalonians 2:7. When Paul wanted to communicate how dearly he loved the people in Thessalonica, he used a picture of motherhood. What is the attitude or the heart of the mother reflected in his example? How does this picture compare to the way that you care for your children?

4. Titus 2:4-5. What are the elements of responsibility that the older women are required to teach to the younger women? Why would this need to be taught? What does it mean to be a worker at home? In what ways do women who obey these standards keep from dishonoring the Word of God?

Something to Try...
Schedule a personal planning time to evaluate your own goals. Write down your goals for your family. Write down your goals for each child. Consider how you are falling short of your goals. Plan specifically how you can do better and what you need to do in the next six months to move toward your goals. Then spend time in prayer, committing this plan to the Lord.

Put pictures of your family or favorite snapshots of the kids in a prominent place where you can see them during your prayer times. Use these pictures as a joyful reminder as you pray for your family or as you plan the priorities of your life.

Buy a blank book for each child. In each, write the story of the child's birth and his or her first few months of life. Add to this journal each year on their birthday to document all of the ways they have grown and to highlight the special events that took place in their lives. You can either share these journals with your children as they grow or save them as a gift for their twenty-first birthdays.

Clarkson, Sally (2009-01-16). The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child's Heart of Eternity. The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Source: http://inpursuitofhiscall-1.blogspot.com/2013/06/notesthe-mission-of-motherhood-touching.html

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