Being a Mom that Matters Part I

Direct your children onto the right path,

and when they are older, they will not leave it.
~ Proverbs 22:6 ~

1. Be a mom who loves God!
1 John 4:19 "We love, because God first loved us." (NCV)

We are incapable of loving our children like they were meant to be loved until we first love God! Motherhood at its best demands a thriving partnership with God! We cannot give unconditional love until we have experienced unconditional love! And God is the only source of that kind of love! We can do everything else right as a parent but if we don't begin with loving God - we will fail!

2. Be a mom who prays continually.
I Thessalonians 5:17 should every mother's commitment to her children. "Never stop praying." (ICB)

It is never too late to start praying and it is always too early to stop!

• Pray for God's plan -- not yours -- when praying for your children.

• Pray that you will see your child like God sees your child.

• Pray specifically for your child.

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Lord, I pray that my child would trust in you with all his heart and will lean not unto his own understanding. I pray that in all his ways my child will acknowledge you and that you will direct his paths."

1 Peter 5:7 "Lord, I pray that my child would cast all her care upon you, because you care for her."

Prayer is an eternal gift we can give to our children, teaching them the importance of prayer and teaching them how to pray. I recently heard the story of a mother who had invited several people to dinner. At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?" "I wouldn't know what to say," the girl replied. "Just say what you hear Mommy say," she answered. The daughter bowed her head and said, "Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"

3. Be a mom who gives time!
Proverbs 22:6 Train children how to live right, and when they are old, they will not change. (NCV)

It takes time to be a mom, to know and to train your children. Every child comes with a set of characteristics already established by God. Our job is to identify those characteristics and then steer the child toward them. The original root word for "train" is the term for "the palate, the roof of the mouth, the gums". In the days of Solomon, a midwife would deliver the baby, dip her finger into the juice of crushed dates, reach into the mouth of the baby and massage the gums and palate to create a sense of taste and thirst. She would then give the child to the mother so the baby could nurse. Our job as mothers is to develop a thirst in our children for the right things. And that takes time.

There is a popular philosophy today that it doesn't matter the quantity of time that we spend with our kids as long as it is quality time. It does matter! Can a woman have it all - a home, a family, a career? I think she can. I'm just not sure she can have them all at the same time. There are seasons of life to which we must yield in order to be the mother God wants us to be. Time spent with children is never wasted! Every minute invested in your child is an eternal investment! Give your children the best of your time -- not the leftovers.

• Make weekly dates with your kids.

• Pull them out of school occasionally for a fun day.

• Have a meal together every day.

• Be involved in the things they enjoy.

In other words, be available! And just your physical presence is not enough!

Being a mom is the hardest job on earth! It brings out the best and the worst in you! I know that it requires great sacrifice and limitless energy, but to invest your time and best efforts into a child, to watch that child grow and develop, is to be part of the creative majesty of life itself!!!