An Open Letter to Christian Moms – Love, Auntie

Dear Moms,

I know many say once you become a mom, your identity becomes “mom.” Yes, the largest role you carry now is mothering, but let me offer a gentle reminder. If your faith is in Christ, the core of who you are is a child of God. Everything else we do, all the roles we fulfill, are fueled by and flow out of our identity in Christ.

This Mother’s Day, let me encourage you with some thoughts I have pondered for some time as your fellow sister-in-Christ, from the insight of Auntie. 

Moms, you are doing a good job! You are resiliently raising children in a big, scary world.

• Take heart that you are not supposed to be perfect. No one is holding you to an impossible standard. You are called to faithfully steward the family God has given you. His mercy and grace in the process are extravagant! “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” – Lamentations 3:22-23
• Your kids love you a lot! As you teach them obedience, pause and reflect: Do we as adults have perfect obedience? Sometimes I don’t obey God as I should. Tell your kids that obeying is hard for you, too. Be honest when you mess up. Invite them to see how the Lord lovingly disciplines us because He wants God’s best for us. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” – James 1:22
  
• Their hearts are tender. You want to keep them that way. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” – Matthew 5:8
• Their spirits are fragile – you are the one who can build them up faster than anyone else. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” – Proverbs 18:21
  You are in it for the long haul – not for today’s victories. If they still don’t grasp a concept today, it will click eventually. “ Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
  – Romans 12:12
• Big feelings are not bad. Feelings and emotions are signals that point to the heart. Lean closer – don’t push away. “Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” – 1 Peter 5:7
• Remember, what’s on the internet stays on the internet. Please don’t publicly complain about your kids. They could read it one day. “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.” – Philippians 2:14-16
• Your kids will remember how you made them feel. “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;  it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 & 13
• You don’t have to take everyone’s advice, especially on the internet. But there is wisdom in learning from trusted people. “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”
  – Proverbs 27:17
• The Lord is ready to lead and guide you as you seek His wisdom first. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”
  – James 1:5
• Jesus loves them more than you do. “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 19:14
• Don’t be too busy being a good mom that you forget to rest in the truth and comfort that you are God’s beloved child.  “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.” – Matthew 11:28-30

You are doing a good job, Moms! Keep being faithful, but don’t forget that you are also a child of God. Lean into Him this Mother’s Day and always.

Love,
Auntie