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11/25/2019 · 2 Comments

Keep Saying Yes in the Trenches of Motherhood

Faith· Motherhood

Motherhood. There are so many emotions tied to that word. Indescribable exhaustion. Overwhelming joy. Unconditional love.  God-given purpose. Unending worry. My journey as a mom started just a short four years ago, but when I think back to the person that I was before welcoming my first baby boy into the world, she seems like a distant memory. Sometimes I miss the girl that had time to pursue everything with excellence: putting 100% into marriage, ministry, and career with energy to spare.

However, I would never trade this role that God has given me as a mom. Motherhood has brought more love, growth, and purpose than I could have ever imagined. It is through the journey of raising my boys that the Lord has sanctified me and shown me far more about my own lack of faith that ever before.

It has been so busy though. The things that I used to effortlessly dedicate time to are now replaced by changing diapers and helping with ABC’s. As I say yes to the little people that God has given me to pour into, my yeses to ministry are inevitably fewer and further between. I truly believe that as moms our greatest ministry is our ministry to the children that God has entrusted to us. After all, our children really are just on loan from God and ours to steward and love for as long as God allows us.

That said, our children are not an excuse to keep from saying yes to God.  It is so easy to use our kids as an excuse. Don’t feel like going to a party? Sorry, that is past the toddler’s bedtime. Using our kids as an excuse can be convenient, and often totally valid. However, that doesn’t work with God. He knows our capacity in the season that He has placed us in, and His calling is within our ability as moms. There is no hiding behind our children with Him. He knows every detail about where we are in raising children, and He calls us accordingly.

Sometimes saying yes to God in the midst of motherhood comes at a price. Our family knows this all too well. We officially signed as missionaries to Guatemala when our oldest was just four months old. His infancy was spent traveling the country and building up a team of supporting churches and families. Not exactly convenient. Then, when he was 18 months old (and I was newly pregnant with his brother), he said goodbye to his grandparents and boarded a plane to Guatemala.

One of the most common questions we got in our season of preparation to move to Guatemala was, “Well, what are you going to do with your son?” Occasionally, this was even paired with, “Are you going to leave him here to live with his grandparents?”

The first few times, I stared blankly back at the person that was asking the question because what I really wanted to say was, “Yeah, we thought we would make our son an orphan and leave him here without us so that we can go and care for orphans in Guatemala.” I refrained, but I think that those questions honestly revealed such a deep struggle in our society.

What those people were really saying was, “How could you ever follow God so sacrificially without thinking about your son?” As a culture, we have come to give those in the trenches of motherhood a pass from doing hard things for Jesus. We try to protect our children from pain and hardship at all costs, even if it means doing so at the cost of our obedience. Yes friend, even in the trenches of motherhood, God calls us to do hard things. Sometimes those things may even come at a cost to our children.

Now, as our family enters the life of foster care, I know that it won’t be without pain to our children. They will have to share their home, their toys, and their parents with a stranger. Then, when they finally come to love that stranger, they may have to say goodbye at a moment’s notice. Did God know that when He called us to this ministry? Of course, He did. Even if it costs our kids to be uncomfortable and suffer, God is asking us to say yes, and I truly believe it will be for the good of our boys. Our prayer is that they will be more compassionate, more flexible, and more aware of the needs of others as a result of their experiences as foster brothers.

When we say yes to God in the trenches of motherhood, we are teaching our children to say yes to God, and there is nothing I would rather do. It prepares them for the big asks that God is going to one day make on their own lives, and it teaches them that Jesus calls them to so much more than a comfortable life. As a mom, that is so much more important to me than raising happy children with a perfect life.

Friend, I know that some days you are so deep in laundry and sibling scuffles that it seems impossible to tackle another thing for the Kingdom. I know that motherhood in itself is a huge undertaking, but I pray that you will keep saying yes, even in the trenches of motherhood. I challenge you not to use your kids as an excuse and miss the incredible things that God has for you, and for your kids too. Keep saying yes, mama!

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4 Ways to Be the Village for Foster & Adoptive Families »

Comments

  1. Lyndsie says

    11/27/2019 at 9:51 am

    Beautifully written, and so true.

    Reply
  2. Brittany says

    11/27/2019 at 6:10 pm

    This is so beautiful. Motherhood is a calling, and God uses us as examples of obedience to our very own children. I recently told my own mom that she (and my father, of course) were the very reasons we took my nephew into our home as my own. While she advised me that the road would be rough, her actions when she was at my age spoke a different story. She walked in obedience and I watched her. Now it was my time to do the same, knowing that my husband and I may fail, knowing the road ahead may be difficult. Obedience, though, is obedience. I just have to trust God every step of the way.

    Reply

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Instagram post 2187344827705159249_9385679 So much to be thankful for and these three are at the top of the list 💙. #raisingtherobertstribe
Instagram post 2186444557520828500_9385679 I truly believe that as moms our greatest ministry is our ministry to the children that God has entrusted to us. After all, our children really are just on loan from God and ours to steward and love for as long as God allows us.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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That said, our children are not an excuse to keep from saying yes to God.  It is so easy to use our kids as an excuse. Don’t feel like going to a party? Sorry, that is past the toddler’s bedtime. Using our kids as an excuse can be convenient, and often totally valid. However, that doesn’t work with God. He knows our capacity in the season that He has placed us in, and His calling is within our ability as moms. There is no hiding behind our children with Him. He knows every detail about where we are in raising children, and He calls us accordingly.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Im challenging mamas to keep saying yes in the trenches of motherhood on the blog today, and I would love for you to check it out!
Instagram post 2185685316531501125_9385679 In this week that we focus on gratitude, I am thankful for this man. I’m obviously thankful for the big things like the way he leads our family closer to Jesus and is my best friend. However I’m choosing to focus on this little things that I often don’t appreciate as much.
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I am grateful that he always goes to the bank for us because I hate it and it’s no big deal for him since he used to work there. I am thankful for the fact that he is the puke cleaner in our house because my trying to usually leads to me almost vomiting on our sick child (and has led to actual puking in the past). I am grateful that he always gets up first on Sunday mornings to shower without complaint even though he gets up earliest all week long.
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There are som many things I could be thankful for when it comes to this man, but today I am choosing to focus on the little things that often go unappreciated. What is something little that your spouse does that you can appreciate today?

Also, didn’t @photographybykellyburton kill it on this photo?
Instagram post 2185130383117836859_9385679 Our home is now officially open for foster care. My mind is full of thoughts about what age our first placement will be, and how our boys will adjust. When I turn my mind to birth parents, I often think what I would want to tell them when given the chance. Of all the things I could say, this would be the most important:
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“Above all of the reassurances that we will care well for your child, there is something more important that I want you to know. You are loved. Even on your worst day, you are so very loved. The God of this universe gave His Son as an act of love for you. He loves you and has an incredible plan for you. At the feet of Jesus, you won’t find condemnation or judgment. Instead, you will find love and grace. We seek to offer that same love and grace to you as we begin this journey together. In Jesus, there is healing and restoration, and we pray that you will look to Him for help in this hard season.”
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Want to read the whole letter? You can find it at the link in profile.
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Instagram post 2173564016937804939_9385679 "Orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It's easier to pretend they aren't real until you hold them in your arms. But once you do everything changes." -David Platt.

As we approach Orphan Sunday tomorrow, I think of him. I wonder where he is at, and if he knows Jesus. He reunified with his mom when he was four years old, and is nearly a teenager now. I pray that he knows Jesus and that he wouldn't fall into the alcoholism and other hardships that plague many men in Guatemala. I pray that he would be a man of God and one day be a man that loves his family well.

This kid changed it for me. Everything we do, every time we say yes, I think of him. He is my why. Sweet Marcos, you have changed the world and you don't even know it.

#orphansunday #keepsayingyes #guatemala #fostercare #getattached #thisisfostercare #hopewriters #hisgracegirls #standsunday #orphansunday2019
Instagram post 2167156108561813777_9385679 Happy Halloween from the Roberts Tribe.

#raisingtherobertstribe
Instagram post 2166784003223263667_9385679 🧙‍♀️Double Double Toil & Trouble Fire Burn & Cauldron Bubble🧙‍♂️⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Happy Halloween from the Roberts Tribe. We squeezed one last fall sensory play in yesterday. I found the cutest mini cauldrons and pumpkin buckets, but you could totally do this with a full sized one. I filled the containers with baking soda, added some food due to vinegar and they play and played. Gideon was amazed at this bubbles which was so fun. It’s totally worth putting your candy bucket to use before filling it with candy tonight!
Instagram post 2166259042985762924_9385679 We are days away from our home being open to foster care, and one of our final assignments was to write a letter to our future foster love. Here is a glimpse of it, and you can read the whole letter on the blog.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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“You are so loved little one. We love you and have been praying for you. We are so excited to teach you about a love far greater than ours or any earthly love: the love of Jesus. Even on your worst day, Jesus loves you, and we believe that He has an incredible plan for your life. We are honored to be a small part of that plan, and we are humbled to step into the hard places of your story and hold your hand through it.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Instagram post 2164689162134292607_9385679 I was deeply troubled this morning by a newspaper editorial that is circulating on social media. The title was okay at first glance, but upon reading the article my heart ached. It asserted that as Christian parents we should treat our children as “second class citizens” so that they know their place in the home and learn to respect their parents. It went on to discuss that parents are of greater value than their children because they are the ones providing food, shelter, and clothing.
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Wow. I am so glad Jesus didn’t view me that way. Friends, there are no second class citizens in the kingdom of God. Jesus saw the value of all mankind, and humbled Himself to the point of dying for us. Not only that, but Jesus very specifically talked about the value of children and welcomed them into His arms. Jesus didn’t earn my respect, honor, and adoration by coming and asserting himself on a throne of glory. No, though He was worthy of all of that, He came in humility and He served.
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Friend, we must do the same. We must parent from a place of humility. The New Testament is full of places where Jesus urged His followers not to elevate themselves. He said that to be first we just be last, and in His parables encouraged us to take the seat of humility at the banquet table. Why would we approach parenting any differently?
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We have the opportunity to wow our children with the love of Jesus each day through our own love of them. Then it is through their own love and adoration for a Jesus that we can begin to disciple and train them in Godly principles such as respect. It is past time for believers to stop using passages about respect as an excuse to demean their children. There are no second class citizens in God’s kingdom and there shouldn’t be in our homes either. May we spend today extra focused on wowing our children with the love of Jesus.

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