When my firstborn entered the world, my heart melted as I gazed at this little dolly. She was so precious, so delicate. Immediately I felt foolish for not realizing what I had been carrying the last 9 months! If only I had known how beautiful and angelic she was! I would have sung to her more, read her stories, eaten healthier foods…! But now she was here, in my arms, her tiny fingers tightly clasped around my little pinkie. Right then I decided I would do my utmost to raise her properly. To give her the best I could offer. An overwhelming feeling of unworthiness came over me as I silently thanked God from the bottom of my heart for this treasured gift and assured Him of my commitment to care for her fully.
The years to follow have been life-changing as God has shown me what He truly expects from me as a mother. It’s a challenging work of complete self-denial, but holds rewards like no other. And I still have a long way to go.
Woman should fill the position which God originally designed for her, as her husband’s equal. The world needs mothers who are mothers not merely in name but in every sense of the word. We may safely say that the distinctive duties of woman are more sacred, more holy, than those of man. Let woman realize the sacredness of her work and in the strength and fear of God take up her life mission. Let her educate her children for usefulness in this world and for a home in the better world.AH 231.1
What does it really mean to be a mother? God has designed an important, unique and sacred work for mothers that no-one else can fulfill. It is a life-long mission. Do we, as mothers, take our job seriously enough?
There is a work for women that is even more important and elevating than the duties of the king upon his throne. They may mold the minds of their children and shape their characters so that they may be useful in this world and that they may become sons and daughters of God. 3T 483
More important than the work of the king upon his throne. Wow. It looks like the mother’s work is something that requires more than just a passing glance.
An angel could not ask for a higher mission; for in doing this work she is doing service for God. Let her only realize the high character of her task, and it will inspire her with courage. Let her realize the worth of her work and put on the whole armor of God, that she may resist the temptation to conform to the world’s standard. Her work is for time and for eternity. AH 231.3
OK, so there’s no higher mission that we could ask for. Mothers are working directly for God. He has given us a very specific work. Why is this work of such a high placing? Because it is for time and for eternity. The work the mother does in raising her child is not for this world. We are raising children for the world to come. For eternity.
In the children committed to her care, every mother has a sacred charge from God. “Take this son, this daughter,” He says; “train it for Me; give it a character polished after the similitude of a palace, that it may shine in the courts of the Lord forever.”MH 376.1
What exactly is a ‘charge’? Webster’s dictionary tells us “that which is enjoined, committed, entrusted or delivered to another, implying care, custody, oversight, or duty to be performed by the person entrusted.” God has entrusted mothers with the duty and care of training up His children and shaping their characters for heaven and eternity. Just take a moment to let it all sink in: this is actually a frighteningly responsible mission!
The mother’s work often seems to her an unimportant service. It is a work that is rarely appreciated. Others know little of her many cares and burdens. Her days are occupied with a round of little duties, all calling for patient effort, for self-control, for tact, wisdom, and self-sacrificing love; yet she cannot boast of what she has done as any great achievement. She has only kept things in the home running smoothly. Often weary and perplexed, she has tried to speak kindly to the children, to keep them busy and happy, and to guide their little feet in the right path. She feels that she has accomplished nothing. But it is not so. Heavenly angels watch the careworn mother, noting the burdens she carries day by day. Her name may not have been heard in the world, but it is written in the Lamb’s book of life.CT 144.2
Let’s pause here and introspect. How are you doing as a mother? Do you realize the importance of your work? Do you take it seriously? Do you put time and effort into parenting?
He knows the burdens of every mother’s heart and is her best friend in every emergency. His everlasting arms support the God-fearing, faithful mother. AH 204
God has given you a sacred work to do for Him. When He gives you work, He will also give you the ability and strength to actually do the work through His Holy Spirit. As Corrie Ten Boom says in her book The Hiding Place, “Trying to do the Lord’s work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you.”
Come to Jesus. Find and make the time. He knows your burdens and longs to bring you rest. He longs to help you raise His children for His kingdom – a job you cannot do on your own.
But it is only when she seeks, in her own life, to follow the teachings of Christ that the mother can hope to form the character of her children after the divine pattern. AH 234.2
My heart-felt prayer is that more mothers may realize the importance of their work and how it is impossible to do this work alone. May they turn to Jesus with their burdens and cares, open their hearts to the Holy Spirit and be ever-willing to follow His gentle leading.
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