With Mother’s Day nearly upon us again for the year I have been somewhat more reflective of Motherhood than I have been in a while.

Some health complications my own mother worked through recently have made this Mother’s Day more precious as I am forced to acknowledge that she is ageing and I should not be taking her presence in this life for granted.  That is not to say that her faith will not see her rising above and living many more happy years, but it has been a reality check for me!

Without a doubt there are moments I catch myself sounding just like her as a navigate parenting my own fab four and for sure when this happens I do smile on the inside – who doesn’t resolve in the innocence of our youth to never say this or never say that to our own child like our mum did to us!

If I look at my own journey of motherhood in parallel to my mum’s, as different as parts of it are, essentially at the core we are both women who love our children deeply and have had to traverse our own strengths and weaknesses along the way.

Being a mum is so complex and yet so simple at the same time.  Each of my four are vastly different in how they need to be nurtured yet at the core have the same need of  love, security and peace.

Likewise if I think of my siblings, my mum had a similar landscape in that my siblings and I are all different in character yet at the core have been cared for with love and the open heart of our mum.

There at times can seem so much weighted responsibility as a parent, in this generation there are so many demands on our children’s focus and so many pathways presented before each of us on what is the ‘best way to parent’.

I can’t help but come back to scripture for the answer, and Jesus’ promise in Matthew 11:29-30, “take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” is a beautiful starting foundation.

Parenting makes me feel very human, my emotions are intricately intertwined in the process and it makes for a rollercoaster experience.; I fall short regularly.  A day in our house can go from happy to sad, light to intense, all’s well to ‘what happened?’, all in the space of half an hour!

Being mum to my four means my heart is open, my emotions vulnerable and my energy in constant demand.  I need more than myself to guide, nurture, enjoy, encourage, embrace, discipline, advise and support my children for they are unique souls who require infinite wisdom to ensure they are, piece by piece, developing faith, character and values of the heart to sustain them.

If you were to ask what is my go-to scripture as a mother, then I would say it really is just the go-to scripture I use for myself too, for there is very sound truth in the statement that ‘if mama ain’t happy then no-one is happy’!  In that essence, if I am not walking in the light of God’s truth, leaning on Him as my source then how can I make good choices in parenting?  If I am not personally living in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 as the answer, “Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”, then there is no way I am going to be giving my children a mum who is more at peace than uptight, more relaxed than reactionary, more patient than impatient, more attentive than distracted etc etc.  

I am yet to find a scenario with myself when this scripture does not bring focus and peace…when the day has gone awry and while managing a sibling dispute, tea has burned, you can ‘pray continually’ for the Lord to refresh your patience; when you manage to find a quiet moment to spend time in God’s Word and you feel His grace wash over you, ‘give thanks’.

Likewise, I am yet to find a scenario with my children that this scripture does not help me with….when you have a teen in a mood, ‘pray continually’, insight will speak in your heart and the way to dissolve the mood emerges; when you have an 8-year-old who breaks a glass when unstacking the dishwasher, ‘give thanks’ for at least he is trying to help, and relax, cut the cutie some slack, a child shouldn’t fear your reaction to an accident.  When you pray for your injured child and they wake up healed and restored ‘rejoice always’ for the Lord is with you and the reality of His power is imparted into the heart of your child.

The ‘hood that is motherhood changes shapes many times through each season, we have to learn to flow and adapt, to grow ourselves and nurture our precious kids at the same time.  No doubt if my mum was to reflect she would say that although her children are grown with children of their own, her heart is just as connected, her emotions just as vulnerable and her need for the Lord’s guidance as a mother just as present.

So Happy Mother’s Day to those out there in the ‘hood, keep leaning on the Lord as your strength, He has got this and you have got Him!

If you are spending the day with your mum or remembering precious memories of your mum, the message is the same, keep leaning on the Lord as your strength, He has got this and you have got Him!