A Weary Mother’s Day

Her children rise up and call her blessed. Proverbs 31:28

Do you have a hard time picturing this ever happening to you?

Oh sure, your kids “rise up”--all the time! Your baby may “rise up” and call (very loudly) at 1:00 am and 2:30 am and 5:00 am. Your toddler might “rise up” with temper tantrums or endless calls to meet his needs. Your school-age child might “rise up” and call you to take her to this activity and help her with that book report. Your teenager may “rise up” in anger at your decisions and call you “strict” or “unfair.”

It may be very hard to imagine your children ever rising up to obey you, rising up to ask for your advice, rising up to thank you, rising up to follow your example, rising up to serve you, rising up to call you blessed.

In fact, you’d settle for just fifteen minutes of not rising up so you could get a nap! You’re plumb tired. Weary. Worn out. Frankly, your idea of a happy Mother’s Day would be to sleep right through and wake up on the other side.

Motherhood can be exhausting; doubly so if we don’t think we’re making any progress. But we must remember the simple yet strength-infusing truth that faithful mothering requires faithful sowing.

Ours isn’t a work that yields instant gratification. It requires a lot of sowing (and not a lot of reaping) for a lot of years.

But the rewards will come. Scripture exhorts the weary mom to “not grow weary of doing good.” And Scripture promises the weary mom that “in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9)

Read those words again: WE WILL REAP. It’s a promise we can bank on.

It might still be a Weary Mother’s Day. The “rising up” of sin and of needs won’t stop for the day. But it can be a Happy Weary Mother’s Day as your soul finds rest in the truth of God’s promises.