An Inspiration, Indeed
What if your mission of motherhood incorporated the vision of seeing yourself as woman who is inspiring?
I know, I know. Maybe the idea of being inspiring sounds simply daunting. But hang with me for a minute. Even if the laundry pile waiting to be folded is threatening to overtake your living room and the sink full of dishes feels insurmountable . . . and your little one can’t seem to make it to the potty in the knick of time and your tweenager thinks she’s going on twenty instead of thirteen . . . and, and, and you feel anything but inspiring, there may be hidden between the lines of life the truth that you, my dear momma friend, are indeed, an inspiration.
According to the dictionary, to inspire means:
to exert a beneficial effect upon (a person)
animate or invigorate
stir; to prompt or instigate
give rise to
to guide or arouse by divine influence or inspiration.
When you stop to think about it, could there be a better definition to describe the God-appointed role of a mom?
Don’t we want to exert a beneficial effect upon our children? Isn’t it our desire to invigorate and give rise to their fullest potential? Friend, that type of inspiration we want to pass onto our children has nothing at all to do with the packing lunches or driving the car pool circuit for the upteenth time. It’s not about changing another diaper or orchestrating the after-school schedule, while figuring out how to get dinner on the table, after a long day at work. It’s not about a Pinterest-perfect birthday party or getting your college-bound teen into the most affordable, yet most beneficial SAT course.
Being a mom who inspires is what happens between, around, and in the midst of those necessary tasks of life.
Being an inspiration is simply this — it is the overflow our faith, which motivates our actions. And that faith doesn’t have to be super mature nor steeped in theology. It’s not quantified by the bazillion ways we serve in ministry or the many hours we devote to reading our Bibles. I know, what a relief to take the pressure off our “doing” and put it onto the “being” of our faith. When Paul writes about the Thessalonians, I can help but see these principles translate to what it means to be a mom who inspires:
1 Thessalonians 1:3
As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Look closely at what Paul saw in the life of the Thessalonians:
Their work was faithful . . . and faith-filled.
Their ongoing labor was prompted by love.
Their endurance was fueled by the hope they had in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Isn’t this the reality of our roles as moms? Isn’t there a sense of faithfulness that spurs us on to complete the chores of motherhood — a faithfulness motivated by our faith? Isn’t our ongoing labor on their behalf prompted by our love for God, and therefore also the children He has given us? Doesn’t our endurance come from the hope we have in Jesus, as we press on for eternal, rather than early, rewards?
My dear momma friend, I do believe that our faith in action in our roles as moms is indeed an inspiration.
We already are an inspiration, just be being a woman who follows hard after God and whose life is moved into action by her faith.
When we arise each morning, with a fresh desire to live for God’s glory . . . when we build our lives upon the hope of heaven and the gift of hope found through Jesus Christ . . . well, isn’t that inspiring? Doesn’t that “exert a beneficial effect” upon our children?
So go forth, momma, knowing that clinging to Jesus and being motivated into action by your faith, because that makes you an inspiration, indeed.
Pressing onto Inspire with You,
Lisa Pulliam
Share this post:
