The True Ministry of Motherhood

The children sharing a Christian song with actions at our family reunion in Holland

In a completely different vein from my last post, I want to share a quote from a book on motherhood which brought tears to my eyes. I’m not a very emotional person so that doesn’t happen very often! But I think this just resonated within my heart.

For almost 7 years now I have been a mother. I have been more tired and for longer than I have ever been. I have had my patience tested more than it ever has been. And I believe I have grown as a Christian through all of it.

But often as I try to figure out where I should spend my time, how to prioritise, and how to make decisions for what we do with the children, I come back to – what is the purpose of all this? Why am I a mother? What is my job before God?

And I always end up with the same thing – that God has given me these children to raise for Him, to follow Him and serve Him. And that is what I aim for and long for, that they would follow the Lord wholeheartedly.

This is the quote that brought tears to my eyes, from Sally Clarkson’s ‘Ministry of Motherhood‘:

‘Seeing my children develop a heart for God’s service and begin to find their own place of ministry in the world is a reachable goal for me as a mother, because God has designed me to fulfill this purpose. 

This is the true ministry of motherhood – to usher my children into the living presence of God, to nurture in them a heart for Jesus and the Great Commission he has called each of us to fulfill.’

So there you go – this is what God has teaching me over these last 7 years, and this is what I hope to do as a mother – to nurture in them a heart for God. Motherhood is a high calling!

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