Mother of the Year
Posted in Daily Focus on Saturday, January 18, 2014
"For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10).
Sometime after the third or fourth year of homeschooling, I finally gained enough confidence to believe that I was capable of teaching my children at home. I could see my children were actually learning, and I was excited to be involved in their day-to-day learning adventure. Everything was clicking with our curriculum, and we actually seemed to be in a rhythm with our daily routine and homeschooling schedule. Still, something seemed to be missing.
As I gave in to my doubt, depression began to cloud my thinking with "poor me" thoughts like "No one appreciates you," "You're just a mom," and "Everyone thinks you're nuts and could care less about what you're doing!" My self-defeating talk continued and many times was substantiated by attitudes and remarks of those in the community who didn't approve of homeschooling. Each day I seemed to take one step forward and two steps backward in recognizing my value as a homeschooling mom. Wasn't there any reward, recognition, or encouragement for faithfully loving and homeschooling my children?
Then, God's gentle rebuke spoke to my heart one morning during devotions. "Why are you still seeking the world's approval instead of mine?" He asked. Ashamed, I wondered how many times I would need to learn the lesson of Colossians 3:23-24: "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ."
Feeling renewed after confessing, I walked into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Sitting on the counter was a carefully wrapped package from my loving husband and children. Surprised, I opened the gift and found a sparkling, professionally made plaque engraved in gold. Below my beautifully scripted name read the words, "Mother of the Year — in recognition for selflessly loving your family." Tears filled my eyes as I hung the trophy on the wall. Satan was wrong! I was valuable to God and my family, and that was enough.
Father, I praise You for the constant reminder of Your love in Your Word. Teach me again to always run to You first when I feel discouraged and claim Your promises as my strength. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Comments(27 comments)
LYNDA B 01/18/2009 06:51:10
This is so true, thanks for this devotional this morning, I needed it. In Jesus name.
NOEMI O 01/18/2009 10:07:41
Lynda Blackwell
Thank you for sharing such a beautiful message! I guess I am experiencing that right now and I need to wait in the Lord so my family understands all I do for them.
Blessings!!
MISTY F 01/18/2009 10:54:42
"be a God pleaser, not a man pleaser!"...this is a constant i am telling myself (and my hubby tells me) all the time. it has been such a hard thing to apply to my life. this last year my hubby and i have been taking a biblical counseling course together and this has been the theme for me as i have been out of school for so long. this truth of not being a man pleaser has become so real to my life and everyday actions. doing all to the glory of God is what it is all about!
SUZANNE C 01/21/2009 15:29:07
Nice story, very good lead to a proven moral.
PETER C 01/18/2010 08:59:07
Thanks! What a great reminder for me.
In Christ, Michelle
BECKY S 01/18/2010 17:20:06
Thank you for the wonderful reminder. God bless!!
Becky
angela z 01/19/2010 18:18:26
It is amazing to see how god works in our lives, I have this email for a few days and did not read it right away. I am new to home schooling and have begun to think I was not smart enough to teach our daughter . I talked to my bible club leader and said I thought I was feeling this way because I was not conforming to " societies" way of doing things,,, then today I clicked on this email and behold God reminded me that I serve him not man.. Thank you jesus.
Angela
JANIT K 01/18/2011 07:10:39
Janit k
thank you this very blessing to start our homeschool this morning god bless!!
JODI C 01/18/2011 07:10:51
:O) I needed this ! Thank You!
TINA N 01/18/2011 08:49:40
Thank you very much for this wonderful devotion. I needed to hear that. It was very encouraging to me!
VIVIAN A 01/18/2011 09:16:37
Very encouraging devotion today and the scripture is just what I needed to hear. It is so true that we need to be pleaseing God not the world.
DENISE P 01/18/2011 09:39:56
Just what I needed to be reminded of. Thank you for reminding me of God's will and plans for me and my family. I look forward to reading these Daily Focus messages.
SHEILA C 01/18/2011 09:59:47
That was great, thanks..I am just beginning this adventure so the encouragement was very timely!! God Bless all home schooling families!
TRACY R 01/18/2011 10:49:57
This really hits home for me. Last month I received an 'Award' just like this except mine was made of construction paper by our 12 year old daughter. I will keep it forever...
FRANCES B 01/18/2011 12:18:09
A call straight to my very soul to look inward an upward for my direction and approval. I aspire to the same faithfulness. For it was in talking with HIM that you received your reward. He knew well before you did that you would seek Him and confess your transgression. Therefore he touched your families' hearts to give you the tangible proof of his omnipotent watchful eyes.
Thank You for your testimony
VANESSA S 01/18/2011 14:56:40
Wow ,what a timely lesson ! Many times it saddens my heart to hear how mothers (myself included ) feel so inadequate and unappreciated .I have
to remind myself daily ,even after 12 years of homeschooling ,that I am doing
just what God called me to do .Another constant reminder is to see the wonderful young men that my son's have become. To see them hold true to the godly values I've instilled in them is always thanks enough .
VELVETTA C 01/18/2012 08:19:09
I needed to hear this, God Bless.
Shari H 01/18/2012 09:34:43
I really needed this. It was on my mind yesterday. Thank You God Bless
JAVALYN L 01/18/2012 11:29:14
A Word from GOD, on time. Thank you for sharing!!
SUZANNE C 01/18/2013 04:20:15
As a veteran homescholing Mom, I received very LITTLE encouragement on the way. Do not walk in the fear of man but turn a deaf ear. For years I felt like I was just planting seeds. But the REWARD that you will reap from homeschooling is far worth any cost to you. (I have two adult homeschooled children) You are sowing seeds of a loving family that will endure. We have wonderful relationships with our grown children. And the siblings still remain the best of friends. We have strong family ties and a love for goodness that has remained. When your child becomes your adult friend and you are still in a position of influence,you will say that it was worth every bit of energy that you expended. Your children will respect you and love you with a love that is not seen in the world today. Galatians 6:9
LINDSEY G 01/18/2013 04:45:39
Thank you, Suzanne, for your testimony. I feel very strongly that one of the reasons I\'m homeschooling is to invest in a lifetime of love for each other, as a family. I SO desire strong, loving relationships with my husband and children, as well as them with each other, for as many days as God gives us. I\'m so encouraged to hear how your faithfulness and perseverance resulted in just that.
KATHY S 01/18/2013 07:14:04
I believe that even though Imay not hear \"Thank you\" everyday or have an award or trophy (which, BTW is a nice thing) for my efforts, I just know how thankful my son is. I see it in his smile, in the calmness he has since leaving Public School. The Peace and Joy he has since he\'s not bullied anymore. When I see him getting sick ,maybe once or twice a year in leiu of 26 times a school year. My Thanks is all right in the above mentioned things, not even a word needs to be said. Thank you Jesus for the gift of Homeschooling, for helping me teach and for my wonderful son!
01/18/2013 08:12:32
What a beautiful story! Your family clearly appreciates you and showed it in such a wonderful way... the Lord knew your suffering and doubts and blessed you through your family! I enjoyed this devotion very much; thank you for writing it. \"Blessed are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.\" Matthew 5:10-12
APRIL C 01/18/2013 08:49:13
I want to thank you for writing this devotion. Not just for today but for each day. So many times it sevices as the encouragement, discipline, new perspective, etc. I need to keep moving forward. Thank you.
01/18/2013 11:03:01
Thx!
01/19/2013 17:16:38
I\'ve been struggling with the same thoughts and I thank God for using your situation to remind me why and who I\'m doing all this for.
NORMA QBROWN 01/18/2014 15:44:40
That's beautiful ... This is why we need to KNOW who we are in Christ so the enemy cannot come to easily discourage us!! Easier said than done! But as we stay in His Word and Prayer - he will continue to reveal how beautifully and wonderfully made we are because we are HIS!!