Motherhood, A Journey of Blessings

When my daughter asked me to write an article on my experience as a mother, I felt overwhelmed with the task of condensing my most valuable experiences into a very short story. How does a mother take a lifetime of joys, sorrows, milestones and memories, and condense it into one small fraction of expression?

Motherhood has been the center of my being, my whole world to be exact. I would be lying if I said tears of laughter and sorrow were not mixed as I write this. There are no words to express the immense love I have for my children. To think, God entrusted such precious beings to me; what an awesome responsibility to raise them to follow Christ and live out the gospel so that one day they may also pass that on to their children.

“God is so good, and I am so blessed!”

I say it all the time, and it's because He first loved me with a love so overwhelming that I cannot fathom it and because of that love, so goes my motherhood. I love my children and grandchildren with a love that I imagine cannot even touch that of my Heavenly Father, so because of that, I know it is an immense love!

“Children are Gods love-gift; they are heaven's generous reward.” (Psalm 127:3, The Passion Translation)

“For you formed my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are your works, and I know this well.” (Psalm 139: 13, Berean Study Bible)

Learning to be a mother didn't just come naturally.

My own mother has been a beautiful example to follow and deserves much credit for training me up for the great responsibility of motherhood. Yes, my mother taught me the basics of cooking, cleaning, modeling the image of what it means to be a wife and mother, but most valuable, she taught me to love the Lord.

She taught me that He loved me far beyond the measure of love anyone in the world could give me. She instilled in me a biblical perspective of my own self-worth and a respect for others. My mother was also a prayer warrior - relentless in her pursuit to keep her children on the straight and narrow. The devil had no idea what he was up against with this praying mother!

I thank God every day that she is mine. I am the mother I am today because of her.

I think of Ruth in the bible and her undying love for her own mother. This is the kind of love I have for my mother, and I hope my children have that same fierce love for me.

She says, in Ruth 1:16-17, “Don't ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” (New Living Translation)

Being a mother, for me, has been an exciting and sometimes exhausting adventure from the very beginning. The sleepless nights, endless bottles and dirty diapers stretched on for about 12 years, as my children are all, almost 4 years apart in age. I tackled the toddler stage with one, while surviving two in grade school with head knowledge (only the training, teaching and discipline my mother imparted to me).

I was so inexperienced, but I eagerly learned as I went along.

Then, as the years kept fleeting by, one was barely out of grade school and another was entering the frightful realm of high school. There was fear of trying to impart all the wisdom my mother had taught me to pass on to my children, and thoughts about all the battle scars received along the way. I couldn't help but wonder if we would all survive or if I could say I had been a good mother. Would my children make me proud as they each moved on toward adulthood?

Life was not perfect, but I clung to God's promises in scripture. I prayed countless hours over my children and hoped, that as a Godly mother, I had honored Him and given my children the tools needed that Proverbs 6:20-22 speaks about.

“My child, obey your father's godly instruction and follow your mother's life-giving teaching. Fill your heart with their advice and let your life be shaped by what they've taught you. Their wisdom will guide you wherever you go and keep you from bringing harm to yourself. Their instruction will whisper to you at every sunrise and direct you through a brand new day.” (TPT)

I had a few wishes for my children, above personal success, titles and money, and that was to truly grasp what God desired for their lives and to follow hard after Him and He would bless them. I tried to instill in them a strong and faithful love for Jesus and the importance of spreading the gospel. I wished for them a life that shined this in everything they desired to do or become. I claimed Jeremiah 29:11 from the day they were all born.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for peace and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (English Standard Version)

My journey as a mother, so far, is full of happy endings. I have watched my children fail and succeed. I have cried tears of frustration and happiness along the way. It has been a long journey, but one I wouldn't trade for anything.

They are all grown now. I watched proudly as they each graduated high school, then college. I watched them walk down the aisle with answers to prayer, as well; God's very best for them. A mother blessed over and over again. I gained a daughter-in-law who loves the Lord and loves and cherishes my son, and two son-in-law’s who are fulfilling a promise to love my daughters and lead their homes in a Christ-centered atmosphere. Nothing makes me happier than seeing them live out their faith in their own homes.

Just when I thought motherhood couldn't get any better, God wasn't finished yet!

I got to add "Grand" to my mother title! Grandbabies! Not one or just two, or even three, but now four! That immense love I spoke about earlier has quadrupled as a grandmother. “Nani," they call me, such a new and most precious word in my vocabulary next to “Mommy."

I could have never imagined a mother's heart could hold any more than the love for her children, but my heart is just bursting with even more love for these little ones. I cannot believe how precious each one is to me and again scripture is fulfilled and God's love is seen over and over with the uniqueness of each one. Proverbs 17:6 says, “Grandparents have the crowning glory of life: Grandchildren! And it's only proper for children to take pride in their parents.” (TPT)

Over and over again, through the eyes of a mother, I have seen the immense love God has for me. In turn, I hope I continue to mirror that to my children, no matter their ages.

As a mother, I have witnessed God's faithfulness through the lives of my children. As a mother, I have reaped numerous blessings as I watched my children grow both physically and spiritually. Now, as a mother still and a grandmother, I look forward with anticipation, as I continue my prayers for my children, my grandchildren and those yet to come. I pray for them to continue to see God's faithfulness and blessings unfold in their lives as they have unfolded in mine.

I will never stop praying that each one of them walks with an unbridled passion in their faith and that they prayerfully instill the values and love for Jesus in their children that I learned from my own mother. As a mother, I can truly say, “God is good, I am blessed!”

“Dedicate your children to God and point them in the way that they should go, and the values they've learned from you will be with them for life.” (Proverbs 22:6, TPT)

WomanhoodContributing AuthorsMay 10, 20191 Comment