Being a mom is hard work. It’s the most rewarding “job” on earth, but it’s hard. I’m not just talking about functioning on two hours sleep; keeping the household running when you’re the one who’s sick; and making sure clean clothes magically appear in your kids’ dressers. I’m also talking about knowing how to discipline your third child for something your first two never did, or explaining to your children that Grandma lives in heaven now.
It’s hard. And it’s time-consuming, if you do it right. Most moms I know don’t get a break all that often (unless you count going to the grocery store by yourself as a break, and even that doesn’t happen very frequently). Mothering is about giving your life to your children. And the stakes—how your children turn out—are higher than in any other area of your life.
It’s easy to see how growing in God can get pushed to a back burner. After all, there’s just no time. Too many other things clamor for our attention, crowding out that still, small voice.
But if we allow our children to take first place and relegate God to second (or somewhere even farther down the list), we are both committing idolatry and cutting ourselves off from the Source of Life.
Idolatry? Really? It’s not like we’re worshipping a statue or something.
Maybe not, but giving anything else the place that rightfully belongs to God is idolatry. It’s saying that something or someone else is more important than God is.
None of us wants to do that. But how do we give God His rightful place? How do we grow in Him in the midst of the busy messiness of our daily lives?
The answer lies in the phrase “spiritual disciplines”. These words refer to the things that are both necessary and helpful means of drawing closer to God. Practicing the various disciplines is a way to put ourselves in a position to hear from God. It’s a way to show Him that He is of primary importance to us. It’s a way of training our minds, hearts, and spirits to seek God and walk in His ways.
Sounds great. But do they really apply to me?
That’s the beauty of the disciplines. They are for all Christians, any time, anywhere, in any walk of life. They can be practiced by kings and peasants, businesswomen and homemakers. The ways in which people practice the disciplines will differ, but that’s okay. Not every person is the same, and therefore, each person’s spiritual walk will look different. What does not differ is that no matter who you are, these disciplines will help you grow in God.
So what are the disciplines? And where do I get the time to practice them?
That’s exactly what we’ll be talking about for the next few weeks: what the disciplines are and how a mom can make them a part of her spiritual life. We’ll learn together about the ways we can grow in Christ even in the midst of all our responsibilities as moms. You see, spiritual disciplines are not just “one more thing” to add to an already overburdened schedule to stress you out just a little bit more. Instead, they are ways to actually lighten our load (we’ll see how this works). And what mom doesn’t need that?
Matthew 11:29-30—“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
1 Corinthians 9:24-27—Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.