Yay! Happy Mother’s Day to all.
God has a special place for you in His grand plan. And I have a special post for all ladies out there; Whether you are a single mom, mom with kids, expectant mom, foster mom, future mom, grandmom, a caregiver to a child or an early childhood educator.
God holds you very dear and His love for you is beyond what we can take in.
For some, it’s a bitter or difficult time of the year. Life has not been fair. The relationship could have turned sour with your mom. There’s still hope to have a fresh start.
For some, it’s a time when they miss their moms a lot. I specifically want to remember all the moms who are not around – “your love has been valuable to us. Even if we missed out on expressing it, we wanna say it aloud now, that your presence in our life has been timely and great support.”
I believe this is a great day to acknowledge what God can do in our life through ‘motherhood’.
Right from the very beginning, God intended mothers to be educated and well-read about God’s word.
He expects mothers to
bring up their children with love and guidance,
be well aware of the world around us – their ideologies, taste, trends and ways so that they can interpret it from God’s viewpoint.
be the primary educators of their children.
It’s a tough job. Rather I would say, it’s the toughest job.
Days seem long and nights seem longer. Some days we feel there is just no end to the work we do. I am sure God gave it a long and hard thought and made us His first choice for motherhood. He placed this massive responsibility into our hands and heart not because of what we can do. It’s because of the amazing things that He can do through us.
I want to quote a line from the book I have been reading.
Motherhood is frequently belittled in today’s ‘enlightened’ age.
John F MacArthur – Twelve Extraordinary Women
It is looked upon as an inconvenience.
Rather, it’s a fantastic God-given opportunity to prepare the next generation of people who would know and value truth, who would live to give and not live for gain, who would love to heal and not destroy.
Remember, it is God who enables us. He enables us to execute this duty. We will fall short of perfection. Accept it. And that’s where we need God. God is aware of our limitations. Don’t worry about being a perfect mom. There is no such thing. Draw closer to Jesus and He will guide you. When God promises He does it.
Jesus says this
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Matthew chap 11:28-30 [Amplified version]
Jesus frees us from the unwanted worldly burdens and teaches us. He doesn’t make us go through things we are not built for.
He is partnering with us in motherhood.
I want to give a special shout out to all mothers who are juggling WFH (Work From Home), handling home affairs and looking after their children’s needs and online schooling at the same time. It’s impressive how you get things done so well.
I understand it’s tough, especially with the sudden collapse of the support systems that you had. So I believe, that if God has brought you this far, He will surely lead you through it and you will come out stronger in faith.
He’s there just a call away.
I remember times, I would sit in a darkroom and take certain work-related phone calls at night, speaking really softly into the phone so that my daughter would not spot or hear me. (my older daughter was just around 1 at that time). We’ve all done silly things. Haven’t we? Even tempted to eat the last cream biscuit and lied to our kids that there was none left.
There is an incident I recall; I was attending a late-night WebEx meeting with a client overseas. Renae (my older daughter) was refusing to go to bed. However, she agreed to be quiet during the call. She was around 4 and was used to seeing me get on calls. So, I was ok with this arrangement. I dialled into the WebEx number and called out my name before the automated voice could place me inside the call.
As soon as I called out my name, Renae called out hers too. I was hoping it would not be recorded. When the automated voice connected me into the call – it sounded ‘Now joining, Tabitha Reji ..Renae Reji’.
I was hoping no one would notice or speak about it. But of course, it was loud and clear. The best part was that the client mentioned “Today Tabitha is joining us along with her daughter”.
We all had a good laugh. That just relaxed the tension and I looked over at my daughter with smiling eyes.
People do understand. Don’t be afraid when things seem chaotic or you have a sudden office call and your child is refusing to leave you or calm down. They are young. And it doesn’t make sense to them why you would want them to stay away from you when you are on a phone call. For them, it’s the same as speaking to grandma or grandpa over a phone?
Talk about your child’s needs to your boss if you face interruption in work during WFH periods. They will be gracious to understand your situation. They could be flexible too.
I have had bosses and teams who were great support systems for me. Thank you team 😊
Before I end the post, there is something more in my heart, I want to share. If you have been struggling to become a mother, please don’t give up hope. God knows your heart. He knows the pain you bear. He knows your desire and the love you carry to mother a child.
Take a prayerful step towards adoption.
The Bible talks about God’s heart being close to the orphans.
He desires every orphan to have a safe home. Far away from abuses, illiteracy and loneliness. He wants us to partner with Him in this journey of motherhood. You don’t have to do it alone.
Today, in this journey of motherhood, we can reach out to God.
For helping us trust Him without boundaries,
For leaning on Him without doubts,
For strengthening us when we feel like giving up.
For keeping us sane when it seems like chaos.
You are a great mom already. Happy Mother’s Day. Scripture taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.