Family is without doubt a GOD-idea, and within a healthy family both parents play a critical role.
I am a mother and I love being one. Brian and I have three adult children. Each of them have married fabulous partners, who we honestly love as our own flesh and blood. We’ve been blessed with seven amazing grandchildren, with five of them now living in the United States. Life is full and colourful, yet having said that, it also has its challenges. The blessing of both longevity and family is available to all, but it is often discovered amid the challenges and seasons of life.
For those with faith and confidence in the wisdom of the Bible — the ‘maternal heart’ is very much a gift from above. Parenthood is a journey for all of us, but here is a handful of qualities that have proven trustworthy in my experience.
– Recognise that any child is an “ENTRUSTED child”. Our children have been entrusted to our care, and our responsibility is to raise them within the knowledge, purposes, wonder and calling of a gracious God.
– Recognise that we carry them for only a SEASON… therefore every season matters. As they grow in adulthood, seek to be mindful of what each season presents and has for them, and be their greatest cheerleaders.
– As a mother, recognize that we are in PARTNERSHIP with not only their natural father, but their Heavenly Father also. Understand that our example will profoundly shape their mindsets, convictions, choices and destiny path.
If you are a solo parent, I empathise, but also want to remind and encourage that God is a very present and willing help. The challenges might be different and amplified, but so also is His Grace in such circumstances.
– Recognise that TENDERNESS is a mark of wisdom. Solomon in Proverbs 4 commends the impact of his mother (“tender and the only one in the sight of my mother”). Tenderness is not weakness. Tenderness issues from the very nature and character of God… and “little people” need plenty of tenderness. In the same way that a young plant needs tender care, protection and water, we also have need of the same. In the same way that a plant needs to be pruned, we also need (tender) correction in order to grow to maturity, strength and fruitfulness. Psalm 144 speaks of young men who become like full-grown plants in their youth, and young women who become like pillars within a palace. A beautiful metaphor indeed of the fruitfulness to be found within wisdom.