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We wipe noses with our own shirts, we kiss ouchies over and over again, we do laundry while making dinner, and then we do it over again.  Then the world tells us: “your job is monotonous,” “motherhood is not fulfilling,” “you should be making money,” and “being a mom is not respectable.”  Why are we, mothers, willing to put up with all this?  What value is there in the daily grind?  Perhaps it’s a little different for each person, but I think each mom understands what a privilege it is to watch a young man or woman grow.  We have experienced the overwhelming joy of the firsts: first smile, first crawl, first steps, first words, and first hugs.  We have molded a child’s character with careful and thoughtful discipline.  We can see past the snotty noses and stinky diapers, because we place tremendous value on each of our children.  God placed these children in our care, and then filled our hearts with a powerful love for each of them.  Ultimately, we do what we do because we love them. 

Even though we love our children, it is still a challenge to fill the many needs our children have.  They are hungry and thirsty; their clothes always seem to be dirty; they are tired or need exercise; it is always something.  John 13:34 says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (NIV).  And we do love our children, but our love must translate into action.  Motherhood isn’t an emotion or state of mind.  It is a job, a job that requires us to serve.  And serving for a job takes some getting used to!  It is difficult to go from school where we earn gold stars on our chart for our achievements, or from working and earning a nice paycheck, to performing a job where most of our tasks go unnoticed.  Making the jump was a difficult transition for me as it is for most women who decide to stay at home.  (Yet-to-be mothers, consider yourselves forewarned!)  But even Jesus, being Himself a King, served humbly.  Matthew 20:28 says, “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  As mothers, we have the opportunity to show God’s sacrificial love to our children everyday through our self-less service.  And when we do, we honor God and we tap a source of joy that will never run dry.  For Proverbs 29:17 says, “discipline your son and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul.” 

As a mother, I often reflect on how my love for my children mirrors God's love for the world.  My children receive the benefits of my sacrifices for them.  They cannot repay me for nurturing them, and I do not require them to do so. It is a joy to tend to them and love them and train them up for the Lord.  A deep and profound love for my children motivates me to seek their best interest whether or not it is fun and enjoyable for me.  And that is how God relates to us, too.  God sacrificed that which was most dear to Him- his only Son- because He loved us so much.  John 3:16 says, “for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  As a child of God, I could never repay Him for what He has done for me.  And He does not require me to repay him.  I can only humbly and gladly accept his precious gift of salvation. 1 John 3:1 says, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!”  I will leave you with these words that were written by Mr. J.R. Miller in 1882 about the high calling of a mother:

"Oh that God would give every mother a vision of the glory and splendor of the work that is given to her when a babe is placed in her bosom to be nursed and trained! Could she have but one glimpse into the future of that life as it reaches on into eternity; could she be made to understand her own personal responsibility for the training of this child, for the development of its life, and for its destiny,- she would see that in all God's world there is no other work so noble and so worthy of her best powers, and she would commit to no other hands the sacred and holy trust given to her" (Homemaking 106).