Hang In There Moms
Leviticus 19:32
32 “‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord.
Exodus 20:12
12 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
1 Timothy 5:1-3
5 Never speak harshly to an older man,[a] but appeal to him respectfully as you would to your own father. Talk to younger men as you would to your own brothers. 2 Treat older women as you would your mother, and treat younger women with all purity as you would your own sisters.3 Take care of[b] any widow who has no one else to care for her.
Ephesians 6:2-3
2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”
Proverbs 23:22
22 Listen to your father, who gave you life, and don’t despise your mother when she is old.
Mother’s Day is a day that is traditionally set aside to give honor to mothers, for their hard work, love, and dedication to their families. As my family honored me with a nice meal and gifts this past Mother’s Day, I reflected back on those long hard days as a new mom. I remembered the fear that came over me as my husband and I left the hospital with a newborn baby. The thought of keeping a baby alive was so scary to me. A million “What ifs” ran through my mind?
Our daughter was a colicky baby, so there were many sleepless nights and this went on for months. As the months went by, I became more confident as a mom, and with lots of prayers, God gave me the strength for each new day.
By the time our daughter was seven years old, she was on a basketball court. Her dad was her very first coach. She played the sport for ten years. When she got to Junior High School, she played on a traveling team during the summer months and on her school team during the school year. When she played on the traveling team, it seemed like we were out of town every weekend. We played teams in Missouri, Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. The expense of staying in hotels almost every weekend, not to mention food and gas was quite expensive. It was a sacrifice that we were willing to make since she enjoyed it so much.
I cannot even begin to count the hours that I sat in my car, or in a hot gym waiting to pick her up from practices. I was in a weekly Bible Study at the time, so I always made sure that my Bible was in the car. I knew that I would have plenty of time to complete my assignments while waiting for her to get out of her practice.
Did I happen to also mention, that she was in a youth choir for the university here in our town, as well as she took piano lessons for about 8 years, and was very active with the youth in our church. There were times when I felt like I was living out of my car. During those years I worked from home running a home-based business, and I thank God that because I owned my own business, I had the flexibility to be present and a part of my daughter’s life and her activities. Our lives were crazy busy and full during those years. As I look back on it now, we were probably too busy.
I hope that you do not think that I am complaining because I am not. I am simply sharing this so that you will know, that I truly understand what it is like to be a tired, busy working wife and mom. I am here to give you hope, and to encourage you that you will get through those hard days, just as I did. I have had people tell me that they don’t know how I did it, and all I can say is; But God! I prayed and asked Him to give me strength for each new day as I still do. I stayed in the word daily and that seemed to be a huge source of encouragement to me. It was an encouragement to me, especially on those days that I didn’t think I could do another thing, and dinner still had to be prepared and dishes still had to be washed.
My daughter is an adult now, and looking back I am thankful for every mile that I had to drive her, during those super busy years. We were able to have great conversations as we drove from place to place. I am thankful for every basketball practice that I had to wait through, and every game that I had to attend. I am thankful for every piano lesson and every piano recital. I am thankful for the choir rehearsals, the summer church camps, and too many birthday parties to count, that I drove her to. You see I realize that all of these things were the experiences that contributed to her becoming the woman that she is today. I thank God that He helped my husband and me, not only survive those years but to enjoy them also. I am grateful that He guided us in guiding her. I can honestly say that it all was well worth it.
Therefore, if I could give you any one piece of advice, it would be to pray. Pray daily for the strength to be the mother that your child needs for you to be, and the mother that God is calling you to be. Pray over your children each and every day. I prayed a prayer of protection over my daughter every morning, as I drove her to school. She did not exit my car until we had prayed. Pray with your husband regarding your children. Pray for God’s directions for their future to be crystal clear to them. Pray that God will bless them with friends who desire to do what is right. Pray for their future mates. Most importantly pray, that your children have a receptive heart for God at an early age and that they will hear and know his voice when He is speaking to them. Pray that their desire will be to please Him, by being obedient to you as well as to Him.
Hang In there moms God has you, and you will survive this thing called motherhood. You may even find out that you enjoy it. Remember you can do All things through Christ who strengthens you!
