Mothering in Faith with an Eternity Mindset

As moms it’s hard to give up control. Today, I welcome The Better Mom contributor, Elisa Pulliam, to encourage us to keep our children’s final destination in mind and release them into God’s sovereign care. -XO, Ruth

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How do you handle releasing your children into God’s hands?

With four teenagers, I’m currently being challenged more than ever before to release my children into God’s hands as they step into situations in which I can not assure their safety, control their decisions, nor guarantee the outcome of their experiences. 

It’s such a stark contrast to the early years of motherhood when my entire focus was about ensuring safety, protection, and provision.  As my sister says, “We just need to bubble wrap them.” If only! Bubble wrap might prevent a bruise or break, but it can’t save a soul or a life. So what’s the alternative? 

My mother-in-law taught me that it comes down to believing in the sovereignty of God as we release our children into His hands.

From the time this little squirmy creature is placed into our arms, we have to figure out how to let go while meeting every single need. It’s a ridicules contradiction, so I think we can't help but ignore the call to release in favor of focusing on the rhythms of their care.

We wake and feed. 

We educate at home and afar.

We tend to the household chores (albeit, I try to ignore mine). 

We work and serve and lead.

We feed again. 

We listen to hearts. 

We tuck them into bed.

The transition from diapering and feeding to launching and releasing is messy. It is a dance between wisdom and worry, discernment and surrender, fear and peace. It’s so easy to forget that all this is just temporary.

They won’t be with us forever.

They’ll grow and develop.

They’ll launch and grow some more.

But as we usher them through childhood, do we do so with the mindset that adulthood isn’t really their final destination?

This is not their forever home. 

This is their temporary dwelling place.

We might see our motherhood stewardship on this present dirt with holy value, but forget that it is to the dirt they will return by God’s sovereign will (Genesis 3:19).

God has. God is. God always will be the one to order their days, their lives, and their very last breath on this earth.

He is the one that made them, created in His image, ordained for His purpose. 

Those purposes will never be without suffering. They will get hurt. They will have to bounce back. They will experience loss. They will experience both blessings and trials. We can't prevent pain but we can teach them about the One to run to and live for on this journey to eternity!

When God chooses to take them home, we won’t have a say in the way His purposes prevail. We’ll only have the choice to yield. But in the meantime, we can choose to live by faith as we model for them how to cultivate their own faith.

As I wrote in Unblinded Faith, “a life without risk is a life without faith.”

Faith is trusting in that which we do not know or understand . . . and cannot control.

Isn't that exactly what we need to exercise as mamas . . . faith in the One who is always in control!

How does God want you to mother in faith and daily release your children into His sovereign care? What fear is holding you back from allowing your children to live the life God has for them? 

Because there is more,

Elisa