by Addie Gerlach

Titus 2:3-5 (ESV)
“Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.”

I barely feel qualified to speak as a mother, let alone a good mother. There are so many great, amazing mothers at Mars Hill. In the time that I’ve had two children, a mere 3 years, God has shown me graciously and painfully how much I need Him in order to be a good mom, (or even a mediocre mom, that just shows how sinful I am!). It has caused me to reflect on my relationship with my parents, my life, my sins, everything I do. That’s called sanctification. I will fail, but Jesus won’t. Jesus will be there to catch my kids when I fail and drop them.

Having Amelia last August has caused me to deal with a lot in my life. I have gone through many emotions (some as a result of postpartum hormones!), fear and anxiety (I’m not doing this right, what if I get pregnant again so soon), and joy (like when the kids play together well). Ultimately Jesus has given me peace. Things will happen in God’s good timing. The baby will sleep through the night. The big sister will get potty-trained. We will have another child in His timing. Maybe His timing isn’t right now, maybe never, maybe tomorrow.

It’s Mother’s Day this Sunday, and God is using this day to sanctify me. It was hard on my first Mother’s Day to not feel like someone owed me something. Caley (my oldest) was all of 4 months and I felt like since I was now a mother that I should get a cake, balloons and a parade, totally overlooking the fact that GOD made me a mother and I should be spending this day thanking HIM for that. Our culture has such a tendency to focus on mothers, or fathers, or [insert holiday here]. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t thank our mother/father or honor them and the hard job they may have. But these days really belong to God. I am thankful that for my life, in this time in my life, I am a mother. Maybe I will get to have more kids, or not. Maybe my kids will be healthy, or maybe they will get sick. Maybe I will have the life I imagine, or maybe I won’t. But I can trust that for right now I am in the right place and I shouldn’t worry because it’s ultimately all in His timing.

So have a good Mother’s day and thank your mother, but know that really it’s about Jesus.