Christian Foundations

DEVOTIONAL ARCHIVE

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by Dennis and Barbara Rainey

Proverbs 1:8
And do not forsake your mother's teaching.

As a mother, I have my days when everything is relatively easy and I wonder why I ever struggle. The children are loving to one another and circumstances seem to flow smoothly.

But there are other days when I wonder if it will ever be fun again. I struggle with guilt and discouragement. Will these children ever grow up to walk with the Lord? Am I ruining my kids for life!?

Because of my humanity, my identity is subject to attack by my emotions, by other people's perceptions and expectations, and by my abilities and failures. Learning the truth about myself and standing on that truth is a lifelong process.

I believe that if I persevere, God will give me a ministry of influence to the next generation. Most ministry activity is by adults to their own generation, but mothers can literally shape the future. President Teddy Roosevelt once said:

When all is said, it is the mother, and the mother only, who is a better citizen than the soldier who fights for his country. The successful mother, the mother who does her part in rearing and training aright the boys and girls, who are to be the men and women of the next generation, is of greater use to the community, and occupies, if she only would realize it, a more honorable as well as more important position than any man in it. The mother is the one supreme asset of the national life. She is more important, by far, than the successful statesman, or businessman, or artist, or scientist.

To have that influence on the future through my children demands that I objectively evaluate my life as a mother in light of that goal.

Prayer:

That God will give you a vision for the type of influence you can have in the future through your children.

Discuss: What are the good things about being a mother? What typically discourages you? Make a list of each.

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