«
»

A Mother’s Work

I receive a daily devotional and this came through last week. I thought I’d share it here as it’s such a good message.

A Mother’s Work
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2 by Os Hillman
Thursday, May 01 2008

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother – which is the first commandment with a promise – that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth” (Eph 6:1-3).

One of the great tragedies of society today is the minimizing of the work performed daily by stay-at-home moms. Women who decide to stay home to raise their kids are a rare breed indeed. They must overcome the stigma of comparison to others who pursue careers outside the home. They fail to get the feelings of accomplishment that can come from a career. They are the unseen missionaries of our day. There will be a special reward for these selfless servants.

Without the commitment of our stay-at-home moms we would not have some of our greatest leaders. “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother,” said Abraham Lincoln.

Though poor, Ida Stover was determined to go to college. She scraped together enough money to attend Lane College in Lecompton, Kan., where she met fellow student David Eisenhower. She was known as a firm but gentle disciplinarian and was deeply religious. It is said she once won a prize for memorizing 1,365 Bible verses. As a pacifist, she was not in favor of her son attending West Point but decided to let him go. She was the mother of Dwight David Eisenhower, one of the greatest U.S. presidents.

Mary Litogot grew up on a farm, and met her future husband, William Ford, when he came to work on their farm. She was 12 and he was 26. They married nine years later. Mary was self-sufficient and a diligent worker. Henry later attributed his clean factories to her belief in cleanliness. She encouraged his interest in machines early on. He later said, “I have tried to live my life as my mother would have wished. I believe I have done, as far as I could, just what she hoped for me.” She was the mother of Henry Ford.*

Has God called you to be a stay-at-home mom? Know that your obedience and sacrifice will be recognized by the Lord.

*Adapted from Source: “Mothers: 100 Mothers of the Famous and Infamous,” edited by Richard Ehrlich; Paddington Press Ltd.

“Reprinted by permission from the author. Os Hillman is an international speaker and author of more than 11 books on workplace calling and faith at work. To learn more, visit http://www.MarketplaceLeaders.org“

This entry was posted on Monday, May 5th, 2008 at 8:16 am and is filed under Author Comments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 Responses to “A Mother’s Work”

  1. Alysha Says:
    June 12th, 2008 at 2:48 am

    I struggle daily to balance my stay at home motherhood tasks and our need for extra income. It all seems so overwhelming as I look around at women who have twice as many children as I do and seem to do it all, and keep composure. I have often find myself caught up in the caring and the doing then actually seeing and enjoying my children. And they are right here all day! At the end of most days I feel so guilty that I have not spent enough good quality time and too much just going through the motions trying to get it all done. I pray daily for multiplied time and and effeciency. Please pray for me!

  2. proverbs31 Says:
    June 12th, 2008 at 8:04 am

    Hello Alysha, you poor thing. Some things that might help you (in fact, I know they would).
    1. Read your Bible daily – at the beginning of each day would be a good time for you.
    2. Find a mentor or group of women you can meet with regularly so you have time out from home. Preferably women who are God-fearing and who can encourage you and pray for you (our forum on this site will help you also)
    3. Create a routine for getting things done – instead of trying to do everything every day, have a day for washing, a day for cleaning, a day for other things. If you know these things have been completed regularly you won’t feel so bad on a daily basis.
    4. Set aside time for you and your children. You haven’t mentioned their ages but if they go to school, then when they return home is probably a good time. Also make sure you have family time on weekends with lots of love and fun.

    These are just a start.

  3. Jessie Says:
    June 12th, 2008 at 11:10 pm

    I work and I have always had a desire to stay home with my children. I have a five year old and my daughter will be a year. At this point instead of trying to find ways to make it happen I have surrendered it to the Lord. If he has me working let me do His will at the workplace so others may come to know Christ. I have a friend a work who desires to stay home too. My question is can you give me some scripture so I can use myself, but also give to my friend. She personally wants to know what the Lord says about staying home. She was a femanist but now she is drawing to Christ.

  4. proverbs31 Says:
    June 13th, 2008 at 8:43 am

    Hello Jessie, lovely to hear from you. There are many scriptures that relate to women but I don’t know that there are any specific to women staying at home. Some of the bible is descriptive of the times the books were written in and some of it is prescriptive of how we should live our lives, irrespective of the ‘time’.

    But I would encourage you to pray with and for this friend that God will direct her to the path that is right for her. If you haven’t already, show her the verses of Proverbs 31:10-31 which clearly show that women can be at home, caring for their families and running a business. Perhaps my book “Worth More Than Rubies: The Value of a Work At Home Mom” might also be a good gift for her. It’s now available at Amazon.

    For me, I desperately wanted to be home for my 5 daughters and I prayed to God, asking Him to show me the way. He did and I’ve been home since early 1994. My children have grown up with me at home (they’re in their 20s now) and my business is over 14 years old.

Leave a Reply