Children.  They add years (and gray hair) to our lives, and yet those years seem to melt away at the sound of their laughter.  As a mother, I know we all stand together in solidarity… knowing that the job of being a mom will challenge us in almost every way possible, but particularly in our patience, our hope, our self-control, our creativity and yes, at times, our ability to leave the house bathed and in proper clothing.  Holla if you hear me?

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  2 Peter 1:5-8

It’s a lifelong, character-building job, ladies.  I don’t mean to leave out the random dads that take on the load of “mothering”…but I think they would agree.  This thing is hard.  Motherhood requires multi-tasking, humility, perseverance, strength and faith.  Faith that our labor is not in vain.

“Therefore, my beloved [sisters], be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”  1 Corinthians 15:53

My son, Will, loves the show Gold Rush.  It’s a reality show that follows gold miners in their quest to find gold.  In the process, they endure broken machinery, draining capital, in-fighting, and futile searches.  Will requested the advertised gold panning kit, which included a pan, a little squeeze bottle and a pound or two of “certified” pay dirt.  When it arrived, he excitedly and patiently panned that dirt, diligently looking for a glimmer of hope.  After tediously examining, swirling, and flipping every morsel in his pan, he struck gold…in the form of 3-5 grain-of-sand-sized pieces.  But that was all it took.  He had the fever, so to speak.  Since then, he has spent hours down by our creek, panning for glimmers of hope.  There are times he loses interest, but he is driven by hope in his final goal.  Gold.

When you consider your job as a mother, what is your final goal?   Mine is to raise mighty men of God who have such steadfast faith in Jesus Christ that they ooze His Spirit out of every pore.  Yes, I guess I set the bar pretty high, but why not?  My God is the Most High…all things are possible.

“Jesus replied, ‘What is impossible with men is possible with God’.”  Luke 18:27

You see, in the process of mothering, we’ll hit roadblocks of all kinds: lack of respect, challenging school years, disobedience and even disbelief.  If we let those roadblocks achieve their purpose, that of sidetracking us or even causing us to give up and turn around, we fail our children.  Instead, we have to be on the lookout for little glimmers of hope, tiny golden nuggets, to keep us focused on the end goal.  Then we are able to hurdle over those roadblocks with our eyes on Jesus, knowing that our victory is in Him for those who believe.  We just have to be dedicated to working alongside Him toward that goal.

Your work is not in vain, tired and juggling-it-all momma.  Don’t give up panning for His gold!  When we are weak, He is strong in us.  When we are challenged, Jesus is already steps ahead of us, having paved the way for our victory.  Keep your eyes open for those golden nuggets of hope and press on toward the goal.

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”  Philippians 3:12