The Strength of Moms

“Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!”           Luke 1:45 (WEB)

Then he [Jesus] went down to Nazareth with them [Mary and Joseph] and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.         Luke 2:51 (WEB)

But there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Therefore when Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour, the disciple took her to his own home.           Luke 19:25-27 (WEB)

(If you are a guy reading this, hang with me. You might learn something about the women in your life!)

This is a week for meditating on the extra-ordinary gift of Jesus Christ, Savior and Lord. I am also looking at those around Jesus. Mary has brought me to the place to stop and learn from her.

Moms have to be strong. From childbirth, women need that ‘extra something’ to not just survive but live. Long nights with sick, fretful children, followed by “just another day” of work whether inside the home or outside or – both! Many times I have thought that I could not take another step. It is in that weakness that I learned that Jesus was there and that He would give me the strength for another day.

I remember the first time that I held each child. That ‘snapshot’ moment when it was just me and the child. The heart prayer that went up, just between me, the child, and God. I remember standing and watching my ‘babies’ get married and later see them hold their newborn child in their arms. I remember sitting and watching my son take his last breath and leave with his hand in Jesus’. It is in the moments that a mother must step back and allow her child to step away and become the man or woman that God has called them to be that are the most difficult. It is then I learned how very much more God loves my child than I do.

Some say that men always want to fix things and are frustrated when things are beyond their ability to fix. I believe that a woman’s common failing is a desire to ‘throw themselves in front of the train’. In our desire to protect our child from harm (mistakes) we prevent them from growing and maturing in their own relationship with Jesus. Our children must hear and must learn to obey on their own. We must realize that our child’s relationship with Jesus is just as personal as our own. Their walk of faith may very well not look like our walk with Jesus. Our children need to see us standing as a testimony to the faith that we truly believe. We need to trust God for the eternal life of our children. When our child goes through trials, we must trust Jesus to lead them through. Yes, He may use us to speak directly but more often, He asks us to pray. Mary stood within Jesus’ sight. She did not strike out at the soldiers but stood firm in her faith and watched as her Son fulfilled His call, His mission.

In our weakness, women of God, we are strong in our hearts and in our spirits with Jesus, our ‘all in all’.