The Ministry of Motherhood: An Unexpected Calling
I’m a stay-at-home part-time working mom — have been for over 25 years. To tell you the truth, this calling has not looked at all the way I thought it would. For many years, I argued with God, “Lord, you picked the wrong woman for this! I was planning to be a full-time working mom who taught English to eighth graders. I have a gift for that!”
After giving birth to our first child who was anything but what I expected when I was expecting (can you say “colic” — we couldn’t back then, nor were we allowed Mylicon drops:-), I quickly realized how much more competent I was as a schoolteacher than a mom. I didn’t like the fact that mothering seemed to spotlight my pervasive sin and reveal my gross insufficiency.
God did not, however, seem to think he had chosen the wrong woman for the job; in fact, he used my own deep doubts to grow a passion for other moms who struggle in this most complex of callings.
Pregnant with my third child, running on a treadmill (where I conceive some of my wildest ideas), I decided I wanted to start a Moms Group. Before you think how wonderful I was, please note that this group was originally designed for me. I wanted some older, wiser women who had three or more children to share their godly counsel. (Or, really, just tell me how to cope with the overwhelming demands.) I asked my pastor’s wife for help — by “help” I meant “you do it” — wise woman that she was and is, she kindly assisted in starting it but encouraged me to continue. I still think she and God were in on this setup together:-)!
Ultimately, this group became a place of “rest and refreshment in the gospel.” We invited the women we met at the playground or preschool, dance recitals or dentist’s offices. And here I was, the mom who struggled with my sin and failures, a coach and encourager to other moms.
In her new book, Running on Empty: The Gospel for Women in Ministry, Barbara Bancroft writes about why God might use us in areas where we feel so ill-equipped:
“Although God regularly uses people who are educated, trained, and experienced to move his kingdom forward, those whose confidence is in their abilities and experience can easily forget their need for Christ in the everyday of ministry. If we rarely question our abilities, it is tempting to rely on them to accomplish our goals instead of relying on the Spirit to work through us.” Loc. 144
She goes on to say, “we will not be ready to do the work God has prepared for us to do until we know how to rely on nothing but the finished work of Christ.”
With children aged 19-25, I am now a veteran mom. I’ve been “educated and trained” — through potty-training, middle school bullying, trophies and tardy slips, deep grief over friends lost to betrayal or death, young adult hopes and dreams crushed and lived….At times I have relied more on my own wits and determination to figure out what to do; others I have spent hours on my knees pleading with God to work powerfully.
Though I forget it every day, I now know that mothering hope is truly in Christ’s finished work. He has died for all mothering sins; he has raised us to new life. He has declared us good, and that is more than enough. Because of his labor of love, we are free from condemnation. Freed to live and love.
A prayer for mothers:
Lord, we pray for mothers everywhere. Whatever we have done or not done today, in our lives, as moms, let us know that you cannot love us more and you cannot love us less. Help us truly understand that it is all up to you. Thank you for your provision — for forgiveness from our sins, for the Holy Spirit who whispers wisdom and hope, for your unrelenting commitment to make us more like Christ. Draw us to rest in your truth; draw us to hope in your grace. In the name of your Precious Son, Jesus, we pray. Amen
![When’s the last time you highlighted your weakness?
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Cor. 12:10
All-Powerful God,
We confess,
we in Western culture
crave power, control, and independence.
The last thing we want
is to be seen as weak.
And yet, weakness is the way of Christ,
so it must be our way as well.
The apostle Paul understood that,
so in the face of accusations
that he wasn’t an apostle,
he countered the boasting of the “super-apostles”
with some boasting of his own:
“If I must boast,
I will boast of the things
that show my weakness” (2 Cor. 11:30).
And then he mentions how he was lowered in a basket through the window of a wall in Damascus, of all places,
a place he went to persecute Jews only to be knocked down on the road,
struck blind, by his Lord and Savior himself.
Paul shares many other weaknesses in 2 Corinthians,
a book that’s all about weakness as the way
of followers of Christ.
He asked that you would relieve him from a “thorn in the flesh,”
but you did not.
Instead, you said,
“My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in your weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).
Lord, we know we really are weak —
[for each of these areas, name any weaknesses you have]
weak in our bodies,
weak in our work,
weak in our wills,
Weak in our faith,
Weak in our hope,
Weak in our love.
We believe
that you your power is made perfect
in and through our weakness.
Help our unbelief.
In Jesus’s name. Amen.
Read 2 Corinthians 11:30-12:10.
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