Ministry of Motherhood
Like most moms, I delight in the labors of love that go hand-in-hand with caring for children and creating a warm atmosphere to host my family — the food, the play, the learning, the extravagant love, the celebrations— These are the representations of motherhood that express the beauty of God.
Though beautifully wonderful and significant, our role as moms goes even beyond this expression.
I remember oh so vividly standing in the hallway of my first home looking into the two spare bedrooms and praying for the Lord to fill those rooms with my future babies... Now, three precious lives later, I have come to know not only the sacred gift that motherhood is but also the level of ministry that Jesus purposed to pour over and through my life. Because you know, my children have a way of revealing (sometimes more like suddenly exposing) my deep need for Him.
Through every stage of motherhood, the beautiful and the hard, I have seen the unique and significant layers of this ministry. Most evident is the ministry that takes place daily… ministering to little hearts when they are sad or scared, ministering to little bodies when they are hurting, and ministering to little minds when they need prayer and encouragement. Deeper is the ministry that calls me to serve when I am tired, hungry, or overwhelmed. Even deeper still is the ministry that comes when I am faced with situations with my children that expose our offense, impatience, irritability and anger. In these situations, when I am able to stop and invite Jesus in to those hard, raw moments and invite my children to do the same, and together we welcome the vulnerability of tears, confession, and repentance, I’m not only opening the door to receive the ministry of the Holy Spirit for myself, I’m also being a vessel for my children to encounter the Lord. There are many days where I have invited my children to come sit with me, start over, hold hands, ask for their forgiveness, invite them to share their hearts with me and pray together. I'm amazed at how all our hearts are softened and drawn to each other in these moments. The Lord meets us there. He is equipping me. He is equipping them. He is equipping our family to minister to each other in this way.
To the extent that my children see me opening up my heart and receiving from Jesus in my moments of weakness is the extent to which I can actually minister to them and teach them to do the same. This is why this side of motherhood is just as uniquely beautiful. It’s ok when I don’t do it all just right and I fail when I’m trying to lead them, because this opens the door for a deeper side of ministry!
This opens the door for us to all meet Jesus.
I’m called to pour my life out before them and not in a perfect sort of way, but a more beautifully imperfect… To repent to them regularly. To share my heart with them regularly. To call them to repentance regularly. To invite them to share their hearts regularly. This is discipleship. This is my ministry of motherhood.
