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 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 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 the dark and take certain work-related phone calls at
night, speaking really softly over the phone so that my daughter would not spot
me 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.
I completely agree with every word. Mothers are so precious. Yet in today's times I see a new trend... "my body.. my wish"... so many babies don't see the light of day just because of this attitude.... if you don't want to deal with motherhood, then there are tons of ladies out there who wish to be a mother but are not able to. You can pass on the baby to them and relieve your self from your fears... but don't ever abort a child.... A loud shout out to the mothers who have brought forth life or are supporting one with motherly care and affection.
ReplyDeleteMany lack family support as well.
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