If you are a woman in ministry, I know the struggle of trying to juggle all the balls of managing motherhood and maintaining your ministry role. It can be quite challenging as you try to balance all of your outward responsibilities on top of cooking, cleaning, and school (or homeschooling) schedules. As mothers, despite all of the work that we feel called to do, we still have to prioritize our ministry at home; training up our children in the way that they should go, spiritually.
For me personally, I led a busy life with younger kids. Still, I could control our schedules. I could set our days. And, I could make it my business to train up my children in the Lord. Typically, I would read them Bible stories, pray with them, and do family devotions before Friday night movie night. Before they could decorate themselves, I hung up posters with scriptures on their bedroom walls. And before they could drive to their own activities, I could make sure they came to church, attended vacation Bible school, and Sunday school.
Fast forward…
Life is on wheels! I now have a young adult son who lives away and two teenagers at home. Let’s just say I’ve found it to be a lot harder training them up! My kids have jobs, school work, and their own stories that God is writing. My life too looks much different with a now jam packed ministry schedule. Things have shifted and the old routines I had in place as a younger mom no longer work. Yet, these kids have been entrusted to me but for a season, and I’ve recently realized that I only have a small window of time to be more intentional about managing motherhood and ministry well.
How can I “train my children up” and invest in them spiritually as they are growing in independence? Just this past Sunday, while we were all in the kitchen preparing lunch after church, my husband asked the kids what they had learned from the sermon that morning. I suddenly had an ah-ha mama moment. Although it looks different than Friday movie nights with little kids in jammies, this is how we can get back to a consistent time of discussing spiritual matters. I then asked everyone if Sunday could be a potential day for our family devo and discussion time. A resounding yes. The Lord provided a new way of directing and training up my teens in the way that they should go.
As a fellow mother, I want to encourage you to prioritize your children’s spiritual well-being; feed them the Word of God just as you would feed them breakfast, snacks, lunch, and dinner. Be intentional. Continue to pray for them and train them up in the way that they should go so that when they are older, they will not depart from it as God promises. And when you need to pivot, do. As you continue your job of juggling, be creative in how you make time for what’s important. Be intentional with every opportunity you have with your children. And be a woman led by God who commits to managing her ministry and motherhood well. The truth you plant in your children today will grow a harvest of God’s faithful promises that they can reap their whole life long.
Your fellow Able Mom,
Courtnaye Richard
“Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.”
Proverbs 22:6