Family Friday: 3 Ways to be a Good Mama

There are no perfect mothers, but we can all strive daily to be the best mother we can be for our children. The following are some things that made my mama great.

1. She was the real deal.

What she was in public was what she was at home.  If there is any faster way to turn a child off to the things of the Lord it is to live a hypocritical lifestyle.  My mom did not do that, and although she wasn’t perfect (no one is) she taught us how to love the Lord by backing up what she said with what she did both at home and in public.

2. She admitted when she had failed.

Every mother fails at motherhood, many times on a daily basis.  My mom had her moments of failure too.  But a moment of failure does not mean you should give up entirely.  “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again…” (Prov. 24:16).  Instead of giving up when she fell short, or worse yet, pretending it didn’t happen, she admitted her failure both to the Lord and to her children.  We knew that she desperately wanted us to love and obey God, and God was able to use her because of her humility.

As a preacher I know says,

“God doesn’t bless perfect parenting; he blesses humble parenting.”

 3. She prayed – a LOT.

We children all knew mom spent time with the Lord daily.  We saw her spiritual journals and notes lying around and made mental note of the fact that her Bible was always her first choice of reading material.  And we knew she prayed.  Along with her journals and notes were her prayer lists.  One of those prayer lists was a bookmark she had received at church entitled “How to Pray for Your Children”.  We knew that she prayed for us, and we knew what she was praying.  I never cared for the part of that list that said “Pray they will be caught when they sin,” but I am sure that having that in the back of my mind was one of the very things that often helped me choose right when I was tempted.

My mother knew that the best place to wage the battle for her children’s hearts was on her knees.

So you see, mamas, you don’t have to be perfect to be a good mother.

If you desire to see your children grow to love and obey the Lord; if you are the real deal, humble, and above all 100% dependent on the Lord to work in your children’s hearts rather than trying to do the work yourself, you will see God’s blessing.

Be encouraged.  When it seems your children aren’t learning anything, just you wait.  They are watching.  And God is working.