Reflections on Mother's Day

I love Mother's Day.  After all, being a mother is usually a pretty thankless job.  Kids seldom notice the sacrifices that you make for them when they are young, so it is nice that for one day out of the year you get to be gushed over. What's not to like about that?!

For me, it is also the day to remind myself that the children that I had birthed do not really belong to me.  God had allowed me the privilege of caring for them, but in reality, they belonged to God.  It's what I call Stewardship Parenting.  As Christians, we tend to be aware (at least in theory) that our money, belongings, and time actually belong to God and that we are just the stewards of those things.  God allows us to use six days a week to do the things that we need (and want) to do, but reserves one day a week for Himself.  He allows us to spend 90% of our money on ourselves, but expects the tithe to go toward His work.

However, we often forget that the same holds true for our children.  We make the mistake of thinking that they are ours- and that gives us the wrong approach in child rearing. We focus on what we want for our kids (happiness, success, security) rather than what God wants.  The reality is that the Christian walk requires sacrifice and suffering.  As parents, we often do all we can to shield our children from those things; forgetting that those experiences are the things that build faith, character, and integrity. 

Our natural instinct as a mother is to protect our children.  However, we are (in essence) tying God's hands when we rush in to protect our kids from the consequences of poor choices. It is vital that children learn the principle of sowing and reaping by experiencing it first hand.  We are opposing God when we try to mitigate the consequences of sin in our childrens' lives.  If we saw a loving parent trying to discipline their child, we would never rush in and try to stop them; but when we shield our children from God's discipline, we are doing just that.

It isn't easy to practice Stewardship Parenting.  It means that we have to truly give our children up to God.  It wasn't easy for Abraham to offer Isaac up as a sacrifice and it isn't any easier for us today.  Giving our children back to God may mean that they end up on the other side of the world doing mission work or live in semi-poverty to minister to native Americans in South Dakota.  While we may feel compelled to transfer our own hopes and ambitions on to our children, Stewardship Parenting means that we enable our children to pursue the course that God has laid out for their lives- even if it means laying down their lives for the Gospel.

Looking back on all the wonderful Mother's Days that I've had, it's great to be honored as a mother; but it's even better to set aside my own selfish desires and expectations of motherhood so that I can be the kind of mother that God wants me to be.  After all, that is what a great mother really is.