I love MY babies, even though they are all grown up.
That seems to be one of my problems lately. My babies are all grown up and I am missing being that kind of mother that I used to be. A friend gave me a good word picture....she said instead of being Mother in big letters, MOTHER
Now I am mother in small letters, MOTHER.
It doesn't mean that I have ceased to be their mother. It just means that I am no longer the center of their universe! They no longer need me the way they used to. I NEED to be a mother. But, as life progresses, things change. And they should!
That same friend that gave me the advise about mothering also said that we spend the first portion of our lives acquiring things......physical growth and knowledge, friendships, careers, marriage, children, material gain.... But we spend the latter portion of our lives learning how to let go.
Isn't that what God asks us to do too? He asks us to deny self, take up our cross, and follow Him. Essentially, that is what happens as we get older. We begin to realize that material things are not as important as we used to think. We let go, little by little, of the roles we used to have when we were younger and take on new roles. We let our children fly....we see our parents age and become more dependent on us, we experience the loss of our loved ones....
We take up our Cross and follow Him.
But it's not the kind of giving up that leaves us empty. It's the kind of giving up that leaves us open to be filled.
Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 2 Cor. 4:16
Our time here is temporary. All the while, we are being prepared to enter in to His kingdom. In order for that to happen, we are transformed. Part of that transformation requires us to let go of the things of this world that are not eternal, and take on those things that are.
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Cor. 4:17-18
Being a mother is a blessing beyond words. It is a gift. It is not something to hoard, or something to be a means of manipulation. It is a privilege to be held in high esteem, and to be carried out in the way it was designed to be. This means we give of ourselves for our children, and we let them go when it's time.
Being a follower of Christ is a gift that far outweighs everything else. It is not something to be held selfishly, or something to be used to set ourselves above others. It is a privilege to behold...to be carried out as He carried out life and death for us. He gave His life for us, therefore, we give ours for Him.
Even though I am not a MOTHER in big letters anymore, I am gaining more and more perspective on the fact that being a good mother means seeing God in more and more of my life. Being thankful for what is and making Him GOD in the biggest letters of all!
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