We live in a day and age that tells us we need to take “me time” and focus on ourselves first in order to be good moms.
They say our children cannot be our identity. We can't loose ourselves in motherhood.
While there is truth in that, my identity should be in Christ alone, it is not the complete truth. Jesus’ greatest command was to love. Who I am is wrapped up in who I love. These are my loves. I will spend my life for them. I will do it with my eyes on Jesus as my example. He willingly poured himself out for me, that I would know the Father.
They won’t be my only loves, but they were uniquely given to me. Jesus trusted them to me. I will willingly pour my life out for them in hopes that they will see the Father. The beauty is that the more I pour myself out for them, the more I see the Father. Giving without expecting in return. Loving me when I'm unlovable and ungrateful.
That is the gift of motherhood.
“It is impossible to love deeply without sacrifice.” Elizabeth Elliot
Mothers, I'm not saying we should never take a moment for ourselves. We need time to refill to be able to pour out. But we live in a culture that encourages us to be "true to ourselves" and prioritizes self love in a way that Jesus did not. Jesus prioritized sacrifice.
I'm not loosing myself in my children. The art of motherhood is to figure out how to weave myself together with them, separate but intertwined. Then we love others right into the tangle of our lives and together we grow as the body of Christ. Vines bearing fruit side by side. He is the vine; we are the branches (John 15:4,5).
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