“For the Lord sees not as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7
I recently experienced one of my most challenging days of motherhood. My children were sitting at the table having just finished their breakfast. I unbuckled Gracie from her booster seat, but got distracted doing something else and did not take her out of her seat right away. I soon found out she did not need my help after all. “Mommy!” Ross called. “Gracie is on the table!” I turned to find my little angel standing on the table, doing a little dance. She giggled and clapped her hands, very proud of her new accomplishment. “No ma’am!” I scolded as I removed her from the table.
As soon as her feet hit the floor, off she went to find adventure. I busied myself with clearing the breakfast dishes and cleaning the booster seat. After several minutes, I looked around and discovered Gracie was nowhere in sight. I began walking through the house, calling for her. I found her in my bathroom, sitting in the floor covered with a pile of 500 cotton swabs. “Oh, Gracie!” I cried. She innocently held one up to me, an offering of her treasure. I quickly gathered the swabs and put them in their place under the sink. When I looked up after completing the task, I realized Gracie had once again slipped away unnoticed. This time I did not have to go looking for her. “Mommy!” Ross called from the kitchen, “Gracie’s making a mess on the floor!”
I hurried back into the kitchen to discover my little girl sitting with legs spread on the floor, dishwasher detergent her substitute for finger paint, the kitchen tile her canvas. “Not again!” I groaned. This latest adventure involved a change of her clothes and a quick mop of the floor. Soon, order had once again been restored. In the course of thirty minutes, my world had been turned upside down three times. Each time I was caught off guard, inwardly scolding myself for not being more diligent in watching what my children were up to. I was weary and discouraged.
Later that same day, we made a trip to the library and the bank. As I presented our books for checkout at the library and as I pulled up to the window at the bank, a smile found its way to my face. It did not appear there because I was happy and cheerful. It appeared almost out of habit. In my heart, I was struggling with the stress and work that motherhood can entail. On my face, life was good and I was a mom who had everything under control.
As moms, we feel we have to put on a front to the world. Society expects us to be Supermoms – holding down a job, serving on the PTA committee, keeping a spotless house and serving a home cooked meal every night. Though each of us knows these standards are impossible to meet, we struggle to become Supermom. So when we fail or flounder, we find it hard to let down our guard and ask for help. We cannot dare to let others know, not even friends and family members, that our job is particularly hard at the moment, that we feel inadequate or unable to care for our children and our home.
This is clearly not as God intended our task to be. Motherhood can be a monumental undertaking. At times it can test our patience, push our endurance and make us question our sanity. But in the quiet times, the reward of our labor is abundant. God has blessed us with precious gifts. These gifts are meant to bring joy into our lives, not stress and heartache.
When we do struggle, God wants us to reach out to each other, encourage and build one another up. Titus 2:3-5 instructs older women to “teach what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be self-controlled, chaste, good managers of the household, kind, being submissive to their husbands, so that the word of God may not be discredited”. We are designed by God to thrive on relationships with others. He does not expect us to go through life alone, but encourages us to help each other along the way.
To ask for help is to reveal your heart to another. When you admit you are struggling, that life is not as perfect as it appears from the outside, you are humbling yourself and letting go of your pride. Our verse in 1 Samuel 16 reminds us that “the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart”. Even if we are successful in fooling the world, we cannot fool God. He knows our hurts and struggles. He feels our failures and inadequacies. He desires for us to reveal these to each other and bear one another up in love.
Tomorrow as you go about your daily routine, ask yourself if you have put on a happy face. Do you smile just for show? Or does the joy of the task set before you by God put it there? If you cannot honestly smile, reach out to someone. And if you see another who is struggling, take the time to show her the love of Christ.
Lord Jesus, I pray that Your hand would be upon my children. I pray that You would give me a joy unspeakable for the task of equipping and training them to live their lives for You. Place godly women in my life to encourage and assist me in times of struggle. Reveal women in my life that need my encouragement and assistance. Help me to remember that I am Your child and can do nothing without You.
No comments:
Post a Comment