The Ministry of Motherhood

I remember 22 years ago when God blessed our family with our first child and what an overwhelming time that was as we prepared for his arrival. In the 9 months leading up to his birth, I was consumed with doing everything just right from the moment he entered the world. I had a stack of parenting and child developmental books on my bedside table that I devoured daily. When the doctors placed him in my arms, the weight of being responsible for him weighed far more than his 8 pounds 10 ounces. I was twenty years old and barely grown myself, but I felt confident I was ready for the task at hand. What I didn’t feel secure in was caring for his soul. Is anyone ever really ready to care for someone’s soul? What a far weightier task! Thankfully, after 22 years of parenting 5 children I have learned that God supplies everything necessary to nourish our children’s souls. In order to do this, soul nourishment needs to be intentionally developed in our homes. Below, are 3 ways to build soul nourishment in the culture of your family. 

Love First

Loving someone is impossible if we don’t know anything about them. Our role is to begin teaching Christ’s love to our children from the moment they are born. As mothers, we generally spend more time with our children than anyone else as they are growing up. We are usually the ones they reach for when they need comfort and reassurance. Using those moments to point our children to Christ as their ultimate comforter will help our children begin to comprehend the love Christ has for them. By showing our children unconditional love we display an example of God’s even greater love for them. Daily, we must take advantage of the moments God provides. There are several practices which can help our children understand God’s love. Reading God’s word to your child from the time they are very young provides a biblical foundation to encounter God’s love. During dinner ask your children to think of a need God provided for that day and tell him “thank you.” You can also point your children to scripture and teach them to pray aloud, thus helping them navigate a conflict in school or fight a sinful temptation. Repeatedly they will hear, “God loves and cares for you.” All of these moments will take time and intentionality, yet through them, we will help cultivate our children’s love for the Lord as they grow to understand His love first.

Model Faith

One thing that stands out to me about Jesus’ relationship with his disciples is that he didn’t just tell them what to do. Instead, he spent every moment teaching them and showing them how to obey the Father. Can you think of a better model for motherhood? Our children will hear some of what we say but they will remember almost everything they see us do. Let your children see you reading your Bible, praying, sharing your faith, making time to serve, and worshiping the Lord. As your children get older, bring them alongside you to serve as they are able. We want our children to grow to be the hands and feet of Jesus and as Proverbs 22:6 tells us, we are to train our children up in the way they should go. Just like making their beds and tying their shoes, they’re not just going to figure it out. They must be taught and encouraged how to live for Jesus.

Teach Repentance 

You’re going to stumble, mess up, and lose your patience. The most recent example I have of this was when my daughter decided to take a large iced coffee to her bedroom. She knocked the entire contents off of her nightstand and, as you can imagine, it went everywhere. Upon entering her room I lost it. Big time. I felt justified in that moment because she had disobeyed by taking a drink into her room. My words and actions at that moment were completely unjustified regardless of how she had disobeyed. By the time we had finished cleaning the mess up, I was filled with immense regret for my initial reaction. Although I am the parent and she is the child, I owed her a heartfelt apology and needed to ask for forgiveness. Without doing so I would leave her with the impression that I didn’t care about her feelings and that it was acceptable to react that way. Just like us, our children are going to fall and fail. Many times, how we handle the mistake is more important than the actual mistake itself. We don’t want our children to carry their sin around with them, therefore we must teach them how to repent and accept the forgiveness offered to them through the cross. 

I am thankful for Christ's unending love, example, and forgiveness. I pray that as you continue raising your children you will fill in those moments he gives you with godly instruction. May the Lord bless you with glimpses of fruit along the way.

In Christ Alone,

Hannah Snudden