The Proverbs 31 Journey: A Sold Out Mother for God

Scripture meditation/memory verse: "She opens her mouth with wisdom, and loving instruction is on her tongue" ~ Prov 31:26 (HCSB)

I love that verse. I so want it to be said of me..."she opens her mouth with wisdom and loving instruction is on her tongue" BUT on most days I am afraid my words have been far from wise and my instruction has been far from loving. The Proverbs 31 Woman was literally a mentor to her children.I didn't do so well this morning...

My 11 year old will not wear jeans if her life depended on it. She hates the feel of them...can you believe that!?!? So, all she wants is sweats during this cold season. This morning she put on a pair of caprices as the weather was a little warmer. When I saw her instead of encouraging her to put on something more suitable...I criticized her dress. Her face was sad in the car on the way to school this morning and my heart broke. The reality...she looked cute walking down the sidewalk to her school but I had broken her spirit. Like squirting tooth past out of its tubed it doesn't go back in...so with our words. Believe me, I quickly apologized to her in a text message and also asked God's forgiveness.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. ~ Ps 19:14

Motherhood is hard...especially with teenagers I might add. Its down right frightening and I have wanted to give up more than once. But if I give up what happens to my girls?

Priscilla Shirer metaphorically writes about the Israelites 40 years in the wilderness to seasons of motherhood in her book One in a Million: Journey To Your Promised Land. As a mother have you ever felt like you were in a wilderness? Have you ever felt completely drained and humiliated by what you have not or could not accomplish in that blessed role you were given? Priscilla writes:

"Lets be honest: parts of the journey in motherhood are dry and dusty, but the tumbleweed blowing across the landscape of my daily, mundane demands has caused me to seek God with more fevor, to reach out to Him with more passion, to depend on Him with more consistency than ever before. Again and again I am humbled as I see my inability to handle daily demands, my bent toward impatience, my need for divine stamina to keep up."

Motherhood is humbling. I found this statement above so profound as I look at our role as a mother...our success truly centers around our dependence on Him. In and of ourself we are more guaranteed to fail. But in and of Gods help, we are promised a more cherished outcome of eternal significance-a promise land. To be dependent on God we have to be intentional and willing to even be transformed.

Is it possible to find contentment in motherhood? Is there a lot out there in this world to distract you in this role? Have some of you faced your biggest storms in life as a mother? I believe God is whispering...rest in me and I will see you and your child through this phase of your lives.

“Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him,
for he shields him all day long,
and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.” ~ Deut 33:12

I also believe He deliberately placed Matthew 11:28-30 in the bible especially for mothers who are worn out from it all...

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

And when all else around you, including yourself, is failing God is there and He will make a way for you:

In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.~ 1 Peter 5:10 (NLT)

He will guide you:

He will feed his flock like a shepherd.
He will carry the lambs in his arms,
holding them close to his heart.
He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young. ~ Isa 40:11 (NLT)

I imagine that this women who opens her mouth with wisdom and lovenly instructs her children is sold out for God. Does it mean her child will geefully follow her footsteps and love God as she does? Will it guarantee her child will always be the most well behaved child with impeciable manners? Will her children always love her, even when she says "no"?

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ~ Gal. 6:9

Maybe not. But a sold out mom for God cannot be missed by the children. they see it. They breath it. they live it and they learn it. And even if they were to walk away from your example, they are more apt to come back to it. I am a living example of this. My mom persisted in her faith no matter how much I or my siblings challenged her. She won. God won.

Those who fear the Lord are secure; He will be a refuge for their children. ~Prov. 14:26

The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. ~ Deut 30:6

Lysa Terkurest posted a blog "Conformed or Transformed" on a different topic in which you can read here but where she stated "The choice is mine. If I want to be a sold out somebody for God, I have to break away from the everybody crowd". This definitely applies here don't you think? We can choose to give up, we can choose to give in to the worldly model of a mom, or we can choose to to be the Proverbs 31 Mom, by the grace of God.

This week I encourage you to read through the chapters in Proverbs and mark every verse that applies to motherhood and raising children. Record those verses that will counteract your impatience, your distractions, or your busyness that crowd out your ability to be the mom God intended you to be-a beacon of light as Christ is for you.

Obviously, I wrote these words for myself...I hope if you are a mother or grandmother you find encouragement here for those tough days!

Believing Him~Pamela