Sandra's Mite: "The Pain of Motherhood"

Thursday, July 28, 2011

"The Pain of Motherhood"

written by Courtney Girdwood taken from Above Rubies October 2010, No. 80

I love my children so much that at times it hurts. Mothering brings me so much joy, yet it is the most frightening and overwhelming task imaginable.

One day you are handed the most beautiful, marvelous gift. You stare in awe-struck wonder and breathe in the sweet fragrance of new life. You cannot fathom how this tiny little human will forever change the world as you know it. Or, how your own life as you know it, will forever change.

Once you are a Mother, things you never worried about suddenly become foremost in your mind. You find yourself double-checking if the doors are locked before you go to bed. You always make sure you buckle up. You apply two layers of sunscreen just in case. You baby proof e-v-e-r-y-thing.

Mothering is so very scare. Life isn't about you anymore. Not only do you worry about your child's well-being, you worry about your own well-being. After I became a mom, I found myself constantly praying for God to protect me, because, second to the thought of losing one of my children is the thought of them losing me.

I pray more than I have ever prayed in my life. Life is so unpredictable and our children are at the mercy of this dangerous world and have an enemy who wants nothing more than to devour them. This reality drives me to my knees, daily. Each day I have to give my fears over to God and ask Him to help me love my little ones while entrusting Him totally with their care.

The hardest part of being a mother is knowing that at some point in time my children will have to suffer. Suffering is an inevitable part of life. Some of my children have already experienced it and I can't express how much it pains me to know there was nothing I could have done to save them from it.

Many times I have seen one of my children in pain and wished I could take their place. I would take any amount of suffering if it meant my child didn't have to suffer. Tears form in my eyes at the every thought of one of them becoming ill, facing despair, having their hearts broken or making mistakes that will forever alter their future. I often think of Mary. What must it have been like to be Jesus' mother and to witness His torture and death?

Sometimes I wonder why God called me to be a mother. At times, the task seems too great to bear and my heart feels like it could crack into millions of pieces. I love my children so deeply, so profoundly that I wonder sometimes if I can handle it. And yet, my God loves them even more. He loves me even more. He loves you even more.

Mothering is the perfect picture of Christ's love for us. He saw us suffering in a dark and sinful world. He came to us to save us from and eternity of suffering. He took our place and paid the ultimate price. He loved us that much. My love for my children is just a speck in comparison to His love for us.

Each day, I lay my precious treasures at His feet. I lay my fears, my heartache, and my ever-present desire to protect them, at the foot of the cross. I pray that God will give me all that I need to mother them well. I ask that He will provide me the strength to endure whatever comes our way.

I thank Him for the incredible privilege of being called Mommy. I thank Him for each day that I get to experience a glimpse of His vast love for me through the love He has given me for my treasures.

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Sandra's Mite

"And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living."
Mark 12:41-44

This is my favourite story in the Bible. This woman did not have much to offer the Lord, but she gave all she had. I cannot claim to be exactly like her because, even though I don't have much to offer, I certainly cannot claim to have given it all. Some day I hope that I will be able to say that I have given all, but until then I will strive to give my life to God moment by moment. This blog is just a small part of my giving. My husband always says that I can be a blessing to others with things God has taught me. I'm only 29 years old and don't know much, but one thing I have learned is to listen to my husband. What exactly this blog will contain, I do not know, only God does. Come back as often as you like and see what God has given me and maybe, just maybe, it will be a blessing to you too!

The Widow's Mite

She woke up to the sunrise, and she hurried to get dressed,
She was going to the temple; she was going to give her best,

Excited as a young girl with a secret to be kept;

She bowed her head and begged Him her humble gift accept.

The crowd was pressing 'round her, all the wealthy and the proud,

As she stopped to give her offering, she could read their thoughts aloud,
She bowed her head in shame then she turned to slip away,
But there stood the Messiah, and His kind eyes seemed to say,

"Lift up your head, my child, it is the heart I seek.
They gave of their abundance, but you gave abundantly,
Lift up your head, my child, for truly in God's sight,
No sacrifice is greater than this your widow's mite."

by Susan Smith and Melissa Baker

Philippians 3:10-14

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.