In Honor of Mother's Day!

I just finished this brief article for our last MOPS newsletter until September and actually my last contribution as MOPS Coordinator. I have been led to step down as coordinator. I am sad about it but know it is the right move at this point. I'm kind of excited to see what God has for me next! Anyways, back to the article, I wanted to share it with you, the Mothers out there! Happy Mother's Day!

A Higher Calling
Titus 2 beginning in verse 4 "....so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home…."

Would you believe it if I told you that you have been appointed a Mother? That the role of Mom is a High Calling appointed by God alone? That He, the Creator of all things, has you right where He wants you to be, with your precious child(ren)? He has created them just as He would like them to be and He has chosen you to be there Mom. Sounds kind of crazy, doesn’t it? When we are up to our eyebrows in dirty diapers (kind of a gross thought!), tantrums, mealtime, sleepless nights, grocery shopping, the day to day of raising children. It is hard to believe that what we are doing is, in fact, a High Calling.

Each on of us has been created to be “Mom”. How do I know this, because we all have at least one child, therefore Motherhood is part of God’s plan for our lives. Being a mom looks different for each one of us. We may work outside of the home or strictly inside the home, we may hate to cook or love to create, no two moms are alike and there is no perfect description of “Mom”. Regardless of what Motherhood looks like for you. God has entrusted each one of us with our children. You have a special calling to prepare your children for the future, to rear them in God’s ways and to prepare them for His purpose in their lives.

I challenge you to look beyond the daily living to the future, to the adults your children will become. Recognize and marvel at the influence you have in their lives. Do not pressure yourself to do it “right” or to just get through it. Instead delight in them. Take joy in them. Be intentional with your children.

Now by this point you are probably thinking, “well, this is all fine and dandy but being a mom is not always fun, sometimes I just don’t like it at all!” You are right; Motherhood is not for the weak! There are times (lots of times!) I want to run fast in the other direction with my suitcase! However, do not allow the enemy to creep in with lies about who you are as a Mother or that what you are doing is insignificant. Instead try to remind yourself in the hard moments that you are significant and that what you are doing has value and in fact influences the world for generations to come.

Making Memories that Matter

Every so often I get emails from MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International. Just now I got an email I really needed to read and I thought I would share.

Making Memories that Matter
By Katherine Craddock

Spring is finally here! With this fresh new season comes a flood of memories of the spring before. But as hard as I try, I can’t recall the laundry I folded, the dishes I washed, or even the beloved flowers I spent hours planting last spring.

I remember yelling at my kids for interrupting my email writing, my Facebook time and the season finales of a dozen reality shows that have since slipped from my mind. Those deadlines and projects were so important at the time, but now, like those flowers I planted, they’ve faded away, never to return.

"For this season of your life,
I challenge you:
make memories that last."

Thankfully, though, I do remember some things that seemed boring and non-urgent. Like the dandelion crown I placed on my daughter’s head and the night we cuddled on a blanket in the backyard and stared at the clouds until the stars came out. And bubbles. Popsicles. Galloping around the yard like a pony. Tackling my boys and playing baseball with them. Slow moments, all of them. Non-urgent moments without deadlines.

There is not one material thing, one worldly accomplishment, even one friendship that I now value more than those precious, fleeting moments with my little girl who’s now in Kindergarten and my boys. For this season of your life, I challenge you: make memories that last. Savor the small. Treasure your time with your babies in your heart, and tear yourself away from the unimportant. You will never, ever regret it.

God, help me slow down once a day to make a memory my whole family will cherish.