Motherhood

Motherhood.  One of the greatest honors that can fall on a woman.  A high calling fulfilled in dark places.  Like the great masonries hidden in the dark and dusty dungeons of beautiful cathedrals ever faithful with their labor, so mothers are concealed in the crumbs of minivans amidst runny noses, temper tantrums and sibling rivalry, chinking away at character stone, each doing her part to sift through the ugly, to sieve out the beauty in this unsightly world. Some days hold victories – an obedient attitude, a lesson harnessed, a loving act, a treasured glimpse into a tender little heart.  Other days seem filled with defeat, but we carry on, clinging desperately to the joy believed to be hidden in this motherhood. Faithful. Resolute.

Motherhood.  God’s intense training ground. 

We have a short breath of time here. This time when we have the opportunity to impress our children's hearts is a fleeting season.  With time on our heels, it begs the question: What is the mission of motherhood? When the nest is empty again and we are faced with simply womanhood, without the demand of on-site mothering, what in our reflections will we be most content with?  What will resonate well in our soul? That we loved deeply? It does cover a multitude of sins.  That we taught effectively? Wisdom does lead to righteousness.  Maybe it’s that we were intentional with our children, present in every moment we were given, every moment they were under our wings before they spread their own… Maybe.

Motherhood. In the midst of noise and chaos it can be one of the loneliest places we are asked to go, the most desolate of terrain we are invited to plod through.  It’s a holy place and it's a humble place.  And these babes entrusted to us, they are far from commonplace.  Much is at stake and there is no margin for pride. The costs are high, the sacrifices many, the outcome completely unpredictable.  The growth immeasurable, the joy unfathomable, the love indescribable, the gift undeniable.  

So I pray to keep my eyes open and my heart intentional on the mission of motherhood: to introduce my children to the One from which they came, the One to whom they truly belong. To lead my children to the One who will complete the good work He has started.  And to be content in my soul that I gave what I had, everything I had, for this mission, His mission. And because of it the world will receive something it is not worthy of… something only God can claim, something that makes me stop and worship and praise Him, Abba Father, that I am allowed any part in it.