I love how the Father in heaven enables us as mothers, through His spirit, to love our children how He loves us.
Think about it, the Bible tells us the attributes of Yahweh: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.“ (Galatians 5:22-23)
All of these are things that we as mothers should possess and practice towards our children, and because we have His living spirit inside of us, we are able to speak and act in such a way. Through Him living inside of us, we become more and more like Him so that we may bear the kind of fruit He wants us to. The kind of fruit He bears Himself!
Yahweh (God) wants us to love as He loves, so of course He wants us to love our children as He does all of us.
Whether or not you are a mother in this season of life, this still applies for you.
“I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other.” (John 13:34-35)
We should love those around us, whether it be our children, husband, parents, siblings, friends, and even those around us that we may not even know or maybe who have hurt us.
Ever since I was a young girl, I dreamed of getting married and having a table full of children. I was raised almost like an only child growing up because my siblings were much older than me. I was intrigued by big, closely knit families and desired one of my own.
My husband, Andrew, and I married when we were both 21, after 5 years of friendship and an almost one year intentional relationship. We got to do a lot of learning and traveling in our first year of marriage before welcoming our sweet baby boy a year and a half later. I am truly living my dream with my precious family. Life is truly better with my boys!
Still, I understand that some days are harder than others, and it can be really hard to be self-controlled and patient when the children are screaming and you feel like you can’t get anything done before another mess is created. It’s moments like these that have taught me that I really cannot rely on my own strength. It is my joy to be a wife and mother, and though I want to be my very best, there are without a doubt days that my patience is thin and I feel like throwing myself a pity party. These times are the ones that have strengthened me in Him because I come to the place of acknowledging my need for His strength. It’s times like these that we should pray for the fruit of His spirit to be evident in us.
The Bible says that through Yeshua’s death we are made alive through His spirit within us. But this doesn’t mean we won’t still react in ways of the flesh because we are still imperfect, so give yourself some grace, Mama! But this does mean that because of His spirit living inside of us, we no longer live for ourselves but should desire to do the will of Yahweh, and He strengthens us to do so!
”For Messiah also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,“ (1 Peter 3:18)
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Messiah Yeshua to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)
”Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Master Yeshua Messiah. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.“ (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)
For us as mothers, we have a very special calling as we are ministering and raising up children of God.
The one who gave us this purpose is the one who strengthens us for this purpose. He is faithful, and He will do it! Press into Him and remember that He is with you and will enable you to do your work for His glory!
Some practical ways of doing this may look something like this:
1. Rising before your family and spending alone, quality time with Yahweh.
2. Trying your best to make the Bible be your first thing you pick up in the morning and the last thing at night. This has been a game changer for me! It doesn’t have to be a crazy long time. Just enough to refreshen your soul and renew your mind in Him.
3. Listening to an audio Bible, uplifting + godly podcasts/YouTube videos, or just playing worship music to invite the Father into your day.
4. Cut out distractions + limit screen time. Listen to what He may be speaking to you.
5. Spend intentional time in prayer. You don’t have to make it sound pretty. Come to Him in all honesty and tell Him you need His strength + just receive it as He fills you.
Be encouraged today, no matter what life may look like in your current season. Seek the face of the Father and allow yourself to be refreshed by the water of His word so that you can do your work with His fruit… love, joy, peace, etc….
I hope this was encouraging to you today, friends. Thank you so much for reading!
