Sunday, June 28, 2009

Motherhood and Time w/God



How do you find time to read God’s Word when you are in the midst of life with nursing babies, dirty diapers, and a house that never seems to stay clean, meals that must be made, and children you must teach. How indeed! When and where do you find the time? Do you have to get up at the crack of dawn even though you’ve been up all night nursing or caring for a sick child? Please never hear me say that. Time with God is important, but it does not have to be at five in the morning.

Here is what Stacy McDonald ( wife of a pastor and a mother of 10) had to say in her book Passionate Housewives Desperate for God from the chapter aptly titled “Weary Women”.

Too many women are in bondage to the man-made myth that everyone should pray in one great big gush early each morning. But rather than praying a river at an appointed time every day, I would suggest a more reasonable and feasible option for a busy mother: pray in “droplets” throughout the day. Not only is this achievable, it is biblical. We are instructed to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) and to let our souls follow close behind Him as His right hand holds us up (Psalm 63:8).

…Looking back to the days when all my children were young and I desperately sought time alone with God, I recall thinking, “What’s wrong with me? Why does everyone else seem to have it all together, and I can’t seem to have a single quiet time without getting frustrated over being interrupted every five seconds?” I thought I had to spend time with God a certain way for it to “count”.

…It took me a long time to realize that I needed to serve God right where He had placed me – and I didn’t have to be in seclusion to spend quality time with Him. I was in His presence with every diaper I changed, every Bible story I told my children, every meal I prepared, every toilet I cleaned, and every math paper I graded. I learned to gather my little ones around me to pray the Lord ’s Prayer, for my good as well as theirs.

…God will provide us with the rest and refreshing we need. He will even provide us with moments alone with Him at times. But we’re not to knock ourselves out trying to get away from everyone to meet with God. We need to learn to find Him in the commotion of everyday life. We must view serving our families as acts of service to God, rather than as acts that “get in the way” of serving Him. -Stacy McDonald

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