MOTHER OF TODDLERSBy Bonnie Sampson
(Bonnie wrote this one evening after one of “those days” with little ones!)
As I sit on the couch and breastfeed my babe,
There’s a clattering sound down the hall,
I squeeze my eyes shut with a frustrated sight
And lift my voice and call.
No reply hits my ears, so I unlatch the babe
And race to the scene of a crime,
There’re cupboards wide open and food on the floor,
She’s been having a wonderful time.
In the midst of the mess sits my small, cute offender
With the guiltiest look on her face.
“Patience! I think and I slowly exhale,
Shooting speedy prayers upwards for grace.
She’s just being curious, exploring the world,
Making messes is what toddlers do,
I don’t want to spend her whole life saying “No!”
And she’s young, she’s not even two!
Being a mother just stretches my patience
And wears it down really thin,
Toddlers are constant, chaotic people
Always exposing my sin.
But sin exposed, as I look to the cross
And see hanging there my Lord,
Giving up all in a maelstrom of grace,
Heaven’s joy his final reward.
I fall on my knees and worship the God
Who showed limitless mercy to me,
Who saw all my sin and still went to the cross,
Forever setting me free.
If my Jesus could give up Himself, even die,
And if love demands mercy and grace,
Then I can be patient with my children at home,
So I scoop her up in my embrace.
I marvel again that God chose me
To love and to raise this one,
Oh, Father grant grace and patience
And make me like Your Son.
~ Bonnie Sampson.
Bonnie was one of my lovely Above Rubies helpers. She lives in New Zealand and is now married with two darling little girls, Shari and Hazel.
Hannah Bronn was also an Above Rubies girl from New Zealand at the same time as Bonnie. And now she is engaged to the brother of Bonnie’s husband. Isn’t that special? And they didn’t even know one another before they came to be with us here at Above Rubies.
843 Hits
Oh, don't you love children? God loves them too! Apart from your salvation, they are the greatest blessing you can receive in life.
Satan is scared of mothers who know who they are and who know their purpose! He doesn’t want homebuilding mothers. He doesn’t want home teaching mothers. He doesn’t want mothers who want more children. Oh no! He wants to get His hands upon the children to influence them for His kingdom so he lures the mothers out of the home. Be aware of his tactics. Embrace your powerful calling of motherhood and you’ll make the devil scared!
Such a good reminder!
I was reading again in Philippians 2:7 how Jesus “made himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a servant.” I was arrested by the fact that no one made Jesus a servant. He made Himself a servant. He took upon Himself the position of a servant!
If you want to enjoy vitality, confess the joy of the Lord. If you grumble and complain and live in self-pity, you'll be miserable and tired!
...to feed our children’s bodies. We must feel their souls and spirits too. Don’t neglect feeding them with God’s nourishing food from His Word. It’s as important or even more important than their natural food.
I have a dear friend who literally her own home. Her husband worked full time and earned the money, but because she was at home with her little baby, she decided she may as well build the home. With the advice of her father and studying building books she did it! She built this beautiful five-bedroom two-storied home which she and her family continue to live in today. And now she is a grandmother!
What a lovely day we enjoyed on the weekend. Began with a three generation walk with Serene and granddaughter Chalice who is due to have her baby tomorrow. We walked down to the river and back, a long hard walk. Serene walked with weights, I just walked, and Chalice waddled and yet kept up with us all the way. She is amazing. She hoped it would help baby come, but it hasn’t happened yet!
Many women don’t like the phrase “keepers at home.” Even Christian mothers. And yet it’s in the Bible! I wonder why they think they know better than the Bible. The phrase is found in Titus 2:5 and is translated from two different manuscripts.
Writing about parenthood, the great preacher and writer, J. R. Miller says: “Duties cannot be transferred.”
I love this quote. The Bible clearly tells us that when we marry, we are no longer two, but one. The math for marriage is one plus one equals one. To enjoy marriage as God intended we must think God’s way. When we begin to think oneness, we will walk more and more in true oneness.
I trust you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner yesterday with your family. We were blessed again to gather together. Because it rained all day we couldn’t do our usual outside activities but the day was filled with laughter and fellowship, some leaving about 2.00 am. I was in be dwell before that!
We’ve been talking about holy marriage and holy mothering. Did you know that God wants your home to be holy too? Wow, that’s a huge undertaking, isn’t it? Especially when our homes are filled with sinners. We are sinners and our children are sinners. Even though we are sinners saved by grace, we are still prone to sin. But as we invite God to come and dwell in our live and our homes, He woos us to holiness.
Marriage is a sacred institution and motherhood is also a sacred calling. The humanistic programming of today, masterminded by Satan, relegates motherhood to the “common” or even the “inferior.” This is a lie. It is time we saw motherhood as God sees it, a holy and elevated estate.
This was the motto of a Chinese Evangelist, Leland Wang and he lived by this motto for 44 years. He wouldn’t eat breakfast until he had read at least one chapter of the Bible to begin the day. I also like to keep to this motto. It’s such a good reminder to feed my spirit before I feed my body. It’s a good reminder to feed on God’s word before I check messages! It has been the habit of my life to get up early and immediately get into God’s word. It is one of the best habits off my life which rewards me the greatest blessings. Leland Wang also said that it was “not a law to bind me but a motto to remind me.”
Here is another “ness” word for you today—HOLINESS. We all know this word and it is very much part of our lives as wives and mothers. God wants us to enjoy a holy marriage, holy mothering, and to build a holy home.
Be faithful to imbed God’s truth into your children while they are young. You can never start too soon. Read 1 Timothy 3:15.