A Mother's Heart

Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?

Mary did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?

This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you...

                                  When you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God...

We’ve all heard this song at Christmas time. I used to sing along and occasionally wonder if Mary did indeed know, but then go about my business. Around Christmas of 2013, the words came alive to me. That was the year I was pregnant with my first baby. We always wonder what our children will be like, look like, and do as they get older.  Will they be a soul winner, preacher, teacher, etc.? I’m sure Mary had these thoughts, too! 

Daily, I pray over my babies numerous times and I pray, dear God, not only do I want my babies to be good people, I want them to have a heart for you, to have a love for others like you. While praying, this song sometimes enters my mind. And I think, I know my babies are going to do great things. I don’t know what they are, but I can’t wait to see it, and I’m expecting it. Can you imagine Jesus as a baby and child? Was he a perfect, obedient child? Or was he at times a tad ornery or not always nice to his siblings? Did he get into trouble? I mean, did Mary put Jesus in time out? Did she ever say, “You do not want to make me stop this donkey!!” It is funny to think about! 

As mothers, we know our babies (no matter how old they are, they are always our babies) are going to do great things. We have hopes and dreams for them. It is our responsibility to shape and mold them from the home front to have love and faith. It is our burden and blessing to teach them to love God with all their hearts and to serve Him with all their being. To make sure they mind their manners, play nice, show respect, have fun, are healthy, are not psychopaths, or murderers, and to keep them alive. It is a daily burden I know I carry for my children. Children are a blessing. Psalms 127:3 (NLT) “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.”. I applaud the mothers who carry this burden and I believe God will honor our prayers and tears. 

I encourage mothers to keep praying and carrying a burden for your children all their days, even when they fall away from God. And this includes ladies who encounter children’s lives. This includes Sunday School teachers, relatives, members of church. If you are a female and children are in your life, you have an impact on their lives and should carry a burden for their spiritual well-being. Not everyone who wants to is able to have their own earthly children, and my heart aches for you and I pray the Lord gives you peace. But you still play a piece in others’ lives in the time you share with them. When you teach the lesson in kids’ classes or you speak to a child in passing, do you ever wonder what this child will be when they grow up? Do you ever think can I say or teach them something that is going to light a spark in their heart to be a missionary and reach hundreds, maybe thousands, for the Lord one day? Will they one day teach Bible Studies to reach all their school friends? What wonders and miracles will this child see with God working through them? 

I pray as a mother that we all have a mother’s heart and love for the children around us. Let us remember the powerful love of a mother, so powerful that God uses it as a metaphor for His love for us. “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.” – Isaiah 66:13 (NIV) 

-Written By Rindy Spann