Today I’m thinking about what it means to be a servant mother.  

Servant motherhood...hmmm...               

I’ve realized that over the last eight months I’ve forgotten or conveniently put aside the idea of servant motherhood. I’m not sure how or when this happened, but it has and over the last few months I’ve allowed myself to become irritated by all the little interruptions in my day.  I’ve allowed one small (large) “lie” to roll around in my head and become my mantra.

It goes something like this, “I’m tired. I just don’t want to deal with that (kids, house, cleaning, problems, etc.) right now. I’m pregnant and I deserve a rest. This is my fifth child…surely I should be able to rest a little now?!” (LOL)

How often do we say things like this and believe them? How many magazines could I open up and find this “lie” in?

Taking a break once in awhile to rest and refresh myself is fine and necessary, but allowing this “lie” to roll around in my head is not. Maybe you don’t think it is a lie, I won’t argue with you, but I would challenge you to ponder it carefully.

Recently, the kids and I learned this bible verse “…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28.

This is a wonderful verse to ponder in light of our roles as mothers. We are not here in our role as mothers (and wives) to be served, but to serve…and to give our lives as Christ did.

Do we? In thought and action? I haven’t been.

Sally Clarkson puts it best when she writes, “Choosing to be a servant-mother means willingly giving up myself, my expectations, and my time to the task of mothering—and choosing to believe that doing so is the best use of my time at that moment.  It means that, by faith, I have already made a decision to make myself available in the routine tasks and myriad interruptions of daily life because I believe it is God’s will for me to serve my family through them. Making this choice ahead of time means I will expect problems and needs to arise and be ready to deal with them in peace instead of impatience and resentment.” (The Mission of Motherhood, pg. 66-67, bolding mine.)

In peace instead of impatience and resentment.

Do you hand your children off to your hubby the minute he comes in from slaying dragons and fighting bad guys? Do you demand “time” for yourself? Are you “tired” of your children? Are you angry when your “needs” aren’t met?

“…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…”

Todd the Family Man put it well yesterday in the TOS Homeschool Minute (sorry I'm not sure how to link to the TOS Minute or his column) when he said that one of the best things we can do for our children is to always greet them with a smile. Amen to that.

So far I’ve had to get up four times since I started writing this.

1.  To take Bess to the potty. Smile

2. To take Bess back to the potty. Smile

3. To change Bess’ diaper, because she didn’t use the potty. Smile.

4.  To help Aaron get his breakfast (even though he is old enough to get his own breakfast). Smile.

“…we mothers need to recognize what a powerful effect our attitude has on our children.  Laying down our lives for them can indeed mean giving up, for their sakes, our right to wallow in our negative feelings.  And choosing the path of servant leadership certainly means making the effort to respond in faith to our circumstances and our feelings, turning to the Lord for help in maintaining a hopeful attitude.  The beauty of such an effort, of course is that it has the power to lift us up even as it sustains our children’s spirits.” –Sally Clarkson

Happy Valentine's Day!