I know that title may sound a little like I’m tooting my own horn…because I’m a mom too…but I am really thinking of the moms I’ve observed over the years, mostly those who’ve walked the path ahead of me and seemed to navigate the snap back curves a little bit better than others.
In fact, a better title for this post might have been, “Moms Who Know God, Are Amazing.”
In reality, there are a lot of good caregivers who are called “mom” but don’t do so well when the path gets steep or the “soul-mate” makes for a heavy yoke, or the call to do more becomes too enticing. There are a lot of moms who don’t have the same goals as a mom who knows God.
I’m not going to talk about them though. Mostly, I want to make noise about the moms who are doing all they are asked in the Bible, even when the man beside them is a little bit hesitant about his role in things. The moms who take the kids to church, with or without daddy, the moms who are building the spiritual foundation of their home without a lot of encouragement from the head of the home, yet still recognize that man as head and leader. These moms, are amazing.
I’m not necessarily talking about single moms, though I hope this gives hope to a lot of them too, because what I’ve noticed, is that praying, devoted and respectful wives/moms are raising amazing and Godly kids, even though daddy may be walking a little lopsided beside her.
I’m not talking about deadbeats, or men who are absent or cruel to their wives and children. I’m talking about the dad who does the right things out of principle, but his heart isn’t in it. He’s there, he’s going to church most of the time, he’s working a job and providing enough for his family, but he isn’t vision casting for his family or hearing from God, he’s not even sure people really do hear from God, he’s just doing what he’s pretty sure a Christian man is supposed to do.
I’ve talked to wives of men like this and they are discouraged. They are tired of leading, tired of motivating, driving and building with both hands, when he should be doing some of the work. For these moms, I want to give a word of encouragement:
It’s worth it! Keep up the good work. Keep dragging the family to church, keep committing your heart to God, keep getting up early to hear from the Holy Spirit, keep praying in the middle of the night. Keep making your husband look like a spiritual giant and keep supporting him even when he isn’t supporting you, because your kids are going to turn out great! Your kids are going to see your faithfulness and your hard work and they are going to rise to your level of passion. Your kids are going to see your undying love for their dad and they are going to rise to your level of devotion.
I’ve seen it again and again, men who don’t deserve the credit are watching their kids graduate with honors, fulfill dreams, surrender to ministry and missions and marry Godly men and women.
Women who stood humbly (strong in the Lord) by their husbands, who didn’t malign them to their kids, or their friends. These women are seeing their hard work pay off. They are seeing their prayers take shape. They are seeing faithfulness give birth to fruitfulness and they are more satisfied than they ever imagined.
So do these men get a pass? No, of course not, most of these men are battling some inner struggle that they may never share with anyone, they know they don’t deserve an ounce of the respect they get, but that doesn’t mean we shame them. God will deal with husbands, honor them so that He can. Pray for them so that He has an opening for His work in their lives.
They aren’t covering the home as they should and it makes every struggle harder. They aren’t protecting or providing to their potential and it makes the road longer and more difficult to navigate. They are full of compromise in regard to spiritual discipline and it makes every promise harder to believe, but it isn’t impossible and disrespecting him along the way will only shatter the hopes and admiration of your children.
I don’t know who you are out there struggling in the day to day, but your prayer is being heard. Your heart is understood and your answer is in the hands of a very patient and loving God. He wants your family fully functioning in him. He wants your relationship to be rewarding. He wants you to have the rest you desire. It’s coming. It may not be as soon as you’d like. It may not be in the way you expect, but don’t demand, don’t rush and don’t criticize, your Provider isn’t the guy on the couch with the remote.
Keep trusting, keep serving, keep maintaining the attitude of respect and honor, your children’s future is a great reward.
Amen.