MOTHERING

As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.  Isaiah 66:13

 

Can you imagine anything better than a mother’s love?  I admit, I could never have competed with either my daughter or daughter-in-law in discerning the unique gifts and personalities they nurture on a daily basis.  And then there’s the topic of energy…

Today marked the mid-point of Camp Curry.  I’ve often remarked that the miracle of Sarah and Abraham was not their producing Isaac, but it was their ability to keep up with him.  Or perhaps that’s what their household staff did.

Today’s parents, and especially the mothers who nurture the children while running the household and managing a career, are amazing.  They are routinely dealing with higher expectations than my generation experienced, and their children have greater temptations, information, and challenges than ours ever did.

As the crust of the earth was cooling, I remember my grandmother talking about doing the laundry one day, ironing another, baking took another whole day (Does anyone do that anymore?), mending was part of the schedule, and then there were grocery shopping and cleaning.  Between my daughter and daughter-in-law, each week they do most of the above PLUS gardening, chauffeuring children to school and extracurricular events, running a successful home business besides a full-time job, and participating in a lively social calendar.  They are not unlike other mothers today.

So what’s my point?  Having been with my precious grandchildren this week and getting ready to let them go back home, I am more strongly reminded of the need for prayer for our young family members and particularly the young mothers:  that the joy of the Lord will be their strength (Neh. 8:10); that they will look to him for encouragement (Isa. 41:10); that they will always experience God’s presence (Deut. 31:6); that they will know they are greatly loved by God (Romans 8:37-39); and that he will supply every need they have (Phil. 4:19).  AND that they will delight in being stewards of the precious treasures with which God has entrusted them.

I will miss the sweet grands, but they will be returning to the place where they belong and where they will be loved and shaped into the image God planned from the beginning of time.  And I will be here praying for them all, loving them, and waiting for the next visit.

 

Father, thank you for the special times I have with all my sweet grandbabies.  Be with my friends who spend long seasons apart from their families and give them opportunities to bless those other children you’ve brought into their lives.  Make us your hands and feet as we love and touch those you’ve entrusted to us.  Keep their parents in you, and help us never to cease praying for them.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

A GOOD WORD (OR TWO)

I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.  II Timothy 1:12b  (KJV)

 

 

At the outset of a New Year, it seems good to consider the security of our families and ourselves in this rapidly changing cultural, political, and spiritual environment.  As the gatekeepers of our households, how will we guard and provide for the welfare of those we love?  How will we keep them safe?

In the Middle Ages it was common for the nobility to erect towers as part of the fortification of their castles.  These towers, called keeps, were built of wood or stone and often served as places of last resort when outer defenses fell to attackers.  From Ireland to Wales, throughout England, France, and Spain, there remain vestiges of these early structures.  Tourists love to explore the ruins and imagine the stories held secret in the decay.

While physical security may not be the primary danger to present-day western families, at every turn there seem to be assaults upon our core beliefs, family values, institutions, and even our way of life.  Today’s parents of young children and teens have to be especially “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” in dealing with today’s threats (Matt. 10:16).  Information (and mis-information) barrages all of us relentlessly, while political correctness is a constant challenge.  It’s critical to our spiritual health that we know how to discern and keep ourselves and our loved ones.

The word keep can be used both as a noun and as a verb with God’s Word giving us plenty of indication of his and our responsibilities in this keeping relationship.  To begin with, there are numerous injunctions of what God expects of us, his covenant people.  For example, we are to keep his commandments (Ex. 20:1-17; Deut. 7:12, 29:9; I Chron. 28:8, John 14:15, 23), and in exchange, he promises to keep us, show us mercy, and prosper us (Deut. 7:12, 29:9; II Chron. 6:14).  In Psalm 91:11 God says his angels will have charge of us and will keep us in all our ways while Proverbs 3:26 says that he will keep our foot from being taken, referring to physical (and spiritual) protection.  (The 91^st Psalm, sometimes called the Soldier’s Psalm, is often prayed for those on the battlefield.)

While I appreciate the promises for mercy and physical oversight, I particularly relish those verses that refer to mental, emotional, and spiritual protection.  God has promised to keep us in his perfect peace when we trust him and stay focused on him (Isa. 26:3).  This supernatural peace that cannot be understood (because it only comes from God) will keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7).  It follows, then, that remaining at peace is a product of abiding confidently and securely in Christ.

And if we ever get concerned about losing our place in him, Jesus prayed that his Father would keep us from evil (John 17:15).  Of course, we have to exercise our own will and cooperate with his leading, but he can be trusted to do his part.  Finally, Jude 24 describes Jesus’ power as able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.  That is the ultimate protection, and these verses are only a smattering of God’s expressions for guarding, for keeping, his children.

They are good words to ponder for ourselves and to teach our children and grandchildren as we go forth into this New Year:  obedience and trust results in being kept.  Just like those families in the Middle Ages, we, too, can run to our strong place of safety and protection—but ours is one that never fails.

 

Father, thank you for so many precious promises that give us life and hope.  May we glorify you as we trust your keeping power.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.