My mother did not give up on me. I can only imagine the prayers she prayed for my salvation. From a young age she prepped me for adulthood. Today I have two grown daughters and as a mother I fully appreciate the preparation required to succeed in life.
A few short years ago, I was misguided on how to raise children in a secular culture.
Our father in heaven is the solution and prepares us for life.
Destination Unknown
~ A mother filled with anticipation.
The elevator door shuts and I am surrounded by two mothers each with a pair of daughters. Caught in a moment of time, that is slipping away as we descend to the ground floor.
Precious daughters, each set dressed in identical Easter outfits and carrying their baskets. While my daughters remain tucked in bed, up in our hotel room.
Each little girl is full of hope, a bright future extending in front of them, while their mothers wait with anticipation. Each floor passes by, uncertain of the destination that lies ahead.
For a brief moment I am taken back twenty years when my daughters were impressionable. Somehow along the way I lost my daughters to a corrupt culture.
We have a short period of time to prepare our children for adulthood. The most important job we have as parents is to instill a firm foundation.
Preparation for Life
By the world’s standard my daughters are accomplished. They are smart and educated; each are hard workers, maintaining jobs and paying their taxes; both free from drug abuse and are functioning members of society.
The values I taught them as a young mother are to work hard and have fun. We instilled a work ethic and encouraged our daughters to enjoy life. Don’t procrastinate. And did we have fun. Alcohol induced-fun!
There is more to life than equipping my daughters for material success, they need tools to overcome. My love alone doesn’t suffice. When anxiety and stress grab hold, as a mother it’s tough to watch your children struggle.
Up until this point, life hasn’t presented itself with any major obstacles for my daughters and not knowing what the future holds, it’s best to be prepared.
Tools Required for a Prosperous Life
Most people equate a prosperous life with money, but money doesn’t buy everything. It doesn’t buy our health, happiness, and peace. Money isn’t a tool for the prosperous life.
Preparations for Life Tool #1 Books
It pains me as a mother to see my daughters struggle. Life isn’t easy and children don’t come with manuals. When my daughters were little they spent time on my lap as I read to them.
I bonded with my daughters over the act of reading a book. There are many children who do not have that same shared experience. As mothers we can foster a love of books and learning.
We didn’t just read books but I pointed to each word.
Sisters, Jenna Bush Hager & Barbara Pierce Bush, authored I Loved You First. They are extending a legacy of learning and love to their children.
The Gift of Words
~ The mother who remains hopeful.
When I return to the hotel room, my girls are getting ready to start their day. My youngest is stressing as she struggles to upload a paper for her graduate program, due by the days end.
As an attempt to hold onto their youth, I ask them, “Do you want your Easter baskets?”
Annoyed but their interest piqued, they respond, “Mom did you get us toothpaste and a spatula?”
Individually, I take out each Easter gift.
First… A signed copy of books written by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush, “I Loved You First.” Each daughter pages through with interest.
Second… The Study Bible for Women, the CSB addition. My girls toss the book aside, not understanding it’s a book filled with principles to live by. The book takes the sting out of life.
Preparations for Life Tool #2 The Word
We tell our children to use their words. But not all words are beneficial to providing peace. Words misused spread rumors and express rage. However, the biblical Word guides and instructs.
As parents it’s our job to plant the seed, by offering a Bible we provide nourishment and God will see to it that they turn towards Christ. This happens on God’s timing and often is through an act of desperation.
A Mother’s Final Act
A mother’s job is never done. We can continue to grow and evolve into a mother that our children deserve. Our children are too precious to give up on. God offers us patience to abide by His time.
Preparation for Life – The Women In Recovery
It’s not about money. Spending time at a five-star resort makes it abundantly clear that it takes money to provide material luxuries in life, but money doesn’t offer the comfort needed to thrive in our broken world.
Many of the mothers I walk with in recovery have mentioned that they are failing their children. I see these mothers differently. Through an act of desperation, they each decided to spend time at rehab to offer their children the prosperous life, one filled with hope.
It’s about making a choice to be open to a new way of life.
Desperation, the One Common Denominator
~ A mother’s final act of desperation.
We sit in a circle, the Bibles are distributed, a gift for each mother.
They can not contain their excitement as they open the books, paging through the stories.
Life is what brought the young women to us. Each with their own story, most from poverty, few from a prosperous upbringing.
Each desperate to hold on to their children.
Preparations For the Prosperous Life
We have a disparity of wealth in the USA. The young women I hang out with in group can not to relate to my daughters. My daughters use their opportunities to thrive. Nor do my daughters relate to the Bush twins. While my daughters struggle for advancement in this competitive world, they aren’t offered the same opportunity as the children of a President to get ahead.
However, we all encounter struggles in life and need preparation to cope. The stresses of everyday living and anxiety from living in a broken world are not solved with money. We have one job as a mother and that is to provide the foundation for God to perform His work.
As a mother we can plant that seed, nourish it with the biblical Word, and patiently wait for God’s timing.
So, then, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
1 Corinthians 3:7 CSB
Leave a Reply