Labor of Love

I fully believe that our role as mothers does begin as soon as we are pregnant. But, lets be honest.  Although pregnancy can sometimes be difficult, tiresome, and long, the real work begins on the day we go into labor.  The day that we have to work hard and be diligent in our efforts to bring forth a baby into the world.  It's the first act of labor as a mother, and the labor then continues, for a lifetime.  

As we labor as mothers, we must stop and think about what the most important role in this ministry is.  What is the action that God has called us to carry out with these most precious gifts? 

Proverbs 22:6 says:  Train up a child in the way he should go;

   even when he is old he will not depart from it.

I love this verse because I believe it is laid out very simply.  God gives us specific instruction to train our children in the way they should go.  Well, in what way are we to train them to go?  Our greatest commandment is to love our God with all our hearts, soul and might... Deuteronomy 6:4-8 says:

⁴"Hear, O Israel:The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ⁵You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

God puts it plainly for us, doesn't he?  So, are you teaching this to your children diligently?  The dictionary says that diligence is an action that is 'constant in effort to accomplish something and persistent in doing anything'.  Are you diligently teaching your child to love the Lord with all his/her heart, soul and might?  How might you go about that?  I believe it is by example, primarily.

As I type this out, I realize I am not even skimming the top of the surface in doing what God has called me to do.  I am to be DILIGENT in teaching them.  It saddens me when I fail my loving Father.  I do it all the time.  However, he lovingly points me back to Him and gives me His Word to guide me back on the right track.  These verses should not make us feel guilty of what we haven't been doing... they should bring us joy and give us strength at the amazing task at hand!  They should gently chastise us to getting back on track with the Lord and just getting back to work, this labor of love called being a mommy.  God has entrusted us to raise up children after His own heart!  What a privilege that He would put us in such an honored position, Ladies! 

So, this week I challenge you to be diligent about the example you are giving your child about loving the LORD your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might!  What are some ways that you can model that?

*Prayer.  Pray with your children!  Look for opportunities to stop and pray for others.  There is ALWAYS an opportunity.  In the morning they might pray for Daddy to have a blessed day at work.  Or pray for unsaved family members.  In the car they might pray for an accident that you just passed or for someone that cut mommy off on the road.  I used to have the habit of doing that many years ago and I found that it helped me to have a softened heart to what might be going on in that persons life.  I had no idea why they were in a hurry, but God did. (If you have a very itty bitty one, you can start praying with them from the womb!  They truly learn from example, so if you model prayer to them, don't be surprised when they are learning to bow their head and say amen before they even know how to hold a spoon!)

*Reading.  Being diligent to seek Him first by reading the Word of God and letting your children know that this is your time with the Lord.  If we are on a phone call, we might say, "Mommy is on the phone. Give me 5 minutes, then I will get back to you."  We should be intentional about our time with Jesus, too.  We can even start setting a quiet time where they also sit quietly and read their bible or look at their picture bible books while we have our time with Jesus.

*Service.  Serving others is a wonderful example to set for your children.  I challenge you to do something kind and thoughtful for someone outside of your immediate family each day this week.  It might be sending a friend a note just saying "I love you."  It might be cooking a meal for a family and just surprising them with dinner.  It might be helping a fellow mommy out and babysitting a couple of hours so she can get some extra sleep or time with her husband.  It might be taking lunch to Daddy as a surprise at work and blessing him with some time together during his busy day.  The list is endless.  But, I encourage you to include your child.  If you babysit they can 'help' take care of the baby.  If you make a meal, let them be involved.  Have them write a note to someone.  Let them know why you are doing this for that person.  Take a moment to pray for those involved. (I would love to hear, throughout the week, in what ways your children served! Please, share.)

*Humility.  Sometimes we blow it.  Big time.  What a great example we can set for our children of humility when we humble ourselves before the Lord and others and ask for forgiveness.  If you need to ask your child to forgive you, don't hold back. You may find that they are the most forgiving of all people.  And, you are teaching them humility.  Use it as a time to let them know about the forgiving God you serve and how it came to be that Jesus died for your sins.  You cannot share what Christ did for you enough, Ladies.  Plus, I am sure as mothers you have come to know that repetition is very much a part of being a mother.  

My lovely, sweet Mommies, you are your child's first example.  God has given you a high calling.  Will you please, take this week, day by day and think about your example to your child?  Will you be intentional to be a Godly example and to ask for forgiveness when you fail, (because, most likely, you will) ? :0) Will you challenge yourself to lead by example, not just this week but for your lifetime, to the precious gifts God has given you?

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, what a privileged position you have placed me in as ____________'s mommy.  I know you have chosen me specifically for this time and place.  I ask that you help me to lead by example.  That my child see that I love you with all my heart and all my soul and all my might.  That you give me a heart to seek you first in all I do.  That I also know when to ask for forgiveness and to do it with humility.  Lord, you are so loving and so gentle and so true to your word.  Will you help me to be more like you, Jesus?  Will you bring it to mind when I am not following your Word so I can correct it?  Please, guide my steps as a mother this week, Father.  Please, give me strength and joy and perseverance that comes only from you, Lord.  That I lean not on my own understanding, but seek your will over my life as I continue on this blessed position of being __________'s mommy. Thank you, Father, for this amazing and beautiful and rewarding ministry!  How blessed I am!  Please, bring that to mind when I may feel frustrated or overwhelmed.  I love you, Lord.  Thank you for giving me your son, Jesus, to die for my sins and be my savior. In Jesus' holy name, I pray, Amen.

Have a happy LABOR day!  Make it your goal to do a labor of love for someone outside of your immediate family everyday this week.  Don't forget to incorporate your children and ask for their ideas.  Their hearts are so open to love and serve others!  For example, when I asked my children this morning what labor of love we could do for someone else, my 8 year old, Walker, and I had this conversation:

Walker: "Mom, how much are ESV bibles?"  (Our Pastor reads an ESV, and Walker loves this translation.)

Me:  "I'm sure we could find one under $10."

Walker:  "Well, I thought maybe Christian, Zack, and I could put our money together and buy Mr. Bennett a bible and wrap it up as a gift." (Mr. Bennett is our landlord. We pray for his salvation, often.)

This is exactly what I meant by labor of love.  Remember, dear Mothers, you labor not in vain, when you set out to do your Father's work!! (1 Corinthians 15:58)