Hey great thoughts! It made me think of how it is also easy to fall in the other pitfall of our identity as a mother. I realized lately that I am sometimes more eager to talk to my neighborhood mama friends about sleep philosophies or BLW or whatever parenting opinion.. than Jesus Christ! What a shame... My identity is neither in being a free woman nor a mother. My identity is in Him alone !! Thanks for your encouragements!! Listening here frome Québec, Canada 🇨🇦
This is so good Abbey! You have a great way of putting the Bible into practical terms for motherhood! The Bible tells us children are a blessing and they 100% are, it's just that we often see blessing in terms of monetary gifts or something that will easily benefit us. Children are hard work and we are sanctified through the process of raising them. I pray that I don't miss out of the lessons and the maturity He wants to bring about in me when I only want to focus on the "hard".
I loved this podcast, it was very encouraging. I would love if you would do one on pursuing interest while having children. That is something I really struggle with.
Same. I feel like I'm a lower energy person with an introverted side, so most of the time I just feel completely gassed to pursue things outside of my wifely and motherly duties right now. I'm hoping it's my current pregnancy talking, but the idea of not napping during my toddler's nap right now sounds...unthinkable, haha.
being a stay at home, mom is a dream come true for me, but I realize it’s not that way for all mothers. So I am glad that you are sharing with, and encouraging your listeners!
As a new mama at 36 and growing up with a mom that resented her children, I got sucked into the very mentality you're speaking about. My transition into motherhood was brutal, emotionally, and I was desperate for hope. I started looking for resources that *didn't* say "motherhood sucks". They are few and far between. Even mamas in my church just said "yes, this season is hard. Kids are a blessing." But they couldn't answer "how are kids a blessing?" I needed so much more than 1 quoted scripture. I needed the adjustment to my mentality regarding selfishness and sinful nature. That my hope is in Christ and that He walks with me. I greatly appreciate that you address that in your resources! Children are a blessing because they bring us closer to God (and some times, they're super fun to be around, lol).
I really appreciated the contrast you highlighted between your experience beginning motherhood, and Emily's. My husband and I were just talking about how our direct-track to parenthood (our first was born four weeks early, two days before our nine-month anniversary 😜) ended up helping us not resent it in the same ways as other couples we see who chose to wait awhile before becoming parents.
As not yet a mother, I have recently been wondering whether how the world views motherhood (which can seep into Christian hearts, too) is a result of thinking that everything we do in life should serve us, that it is for us in some way, as opposed to for some other purpose outside of us (preferably some greater purpose). That, sadly, seems to be at the heart of this. People who can see more in parenthood often seem to be people who have some humility and some notion that life is about others as well as themselves- to see the joy, to see the progress, that a child makes can bring joy, but hard hearts may not see it and may not take joy in it. Also, a secular worldview that says that there is hardly any hope, that the future is bleak, is likely (I think) to deprive us of joy in the growth of children because one might not see the world they are entering into as a place of hope and opportunity, and can even view bringing children into the world as it is as both bad for children and bad for the world (humans being a curse to nature). There is hardly any reinforcement in an anti-Christian and anti-religious world for the joy of what children are. So therefore, I feel that Christians need to explain what the hope of bringing people into the world is... what is the value of it? Why did God tell us to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth? I think the joy children bring us is likely to be a byproduct of the purpose of having children, not the reason for it.
Colossians 1:24: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church.” St. John Paul II wrote, “The sufferings of Christ created the good of the world’s redemption. This good in itself is inexhaustible and infinite. No man can add anything to it. But at the same time, in the mystery of the Church as his Body, Christ has in a sense opened his own redemptive suffering to all human suffering
These are the words I have been looking for! Praise God
Abby, THANK you.
Abby don't stop what you are doing! This is so important. Thank you for helping me and generations of mothers to come
Hey great thoughts!
It made me think of how it is also easy to fall in the other pitfall of our identity as a mother. I realized lately that I am sometimes more eager to talk to my neighborhood mama friends about sleep philosophies or BLW or whatever parenting opinion.. than Jesus Christ! What a shame...
My identity is neither in being a free woman nor a mother. My identity is in Him alone !!
Thanks for your encouragements!!
Listening here frome Québec, Canada 🇨🇦
This is so good Abbey! You have a great way of putting the Bible into practical terms for motherhood! The Bible tells us children are a blessing and they 100% are, it's just that we often see blessing in terms of monetary gifts or something that will easily benefit us. Children are hard work and we are sanctified through the process of raising them. I pray that I don't miss out of the lessons and the maturity He wants to bring about in me when I only want to focus on the "hard".
I loved this podcast, it was very encouraging. I would love if you would do one on pursuing interest while having children. That is something I really struggle with.
Would love that to be a topic as well
Same. I feel like I'm a lower energy person with an introverted side, so most of the time I just feel completely gassed to pursue things outside of my wifely and motherly duties right now. I'm hoping it's my current pregnancy talking, but the idea of not napping during my toddler's nap right now sounds...unthinkable, haha.
being a stay at home, mom is a dream come true for me, but I realize it’s not that way for all mothers. So I am glad that you are sharing with, and encouraging your listeners!
As an older mama (with my first) it is nice for me to know that I really wasn't all that spontaneous before my son arrived 😊
As a new mama at 36 and growing up with a mom that resented her children, I got sucked into the very mentality you're speaking about. My transition into motherhood was brutal, emotionally, and I was desperate for hope. I started looking for resources that *didn't* say "motherhood sucks". They are few and far between. Even mamas in my church just said "yes, this season is hard. Kids are a blessing." But they couldn't answer "how are kids a blessing?" I needed so much more than 1 quoted scripture. I needed the adjustment to my mentality regarding selfishness and sinful nature. That my hope is in Christ and that He walks with me. I greatly appreciate that you address that in your resources! Children are a blessing because they bring us closer to God (and some times, they're super fun to be around, lol).
I really appreciated the contrast you highlighted between your experience beginning motherhood, and Emily's. My husband and I were just talking about how our direct-track to parenthood (our first was born four weeks early, two days before our nine-month anniversary 😜) ended up helping us not resent it in the same ways as other couples we see who chose to wait awhile before becoming parents.
As not yet a mother, I have recently been wondering whether how the world views motherhood (which can seep into Christian hearts, too) is a result of thinking that everything we do in life should serve us, that it is for us in some way, as opposed to for some other purpose outside of us (preferably some greater purpose). That, sadly, seems to be at the heart of this. People who can see more in parenthood often seem to be people who have some humility and some notion that life is about others as well as themselves- to see the joy, to see the progress, that a child makes can bring joy, but hard hearts may not see it and may not take joy in it. Also, a secular worldview that says that there is hardly any hope, that the future is bleak, is likely (I think) to deprive us of joy in the growth of children because one might not see the world they are entering into as a place of hope and opportunity, and can even view bringing children into the world as it is as both bad for children and bad for the world (humans being a curse to nature). There is hardly any reinforcement in an anti-Christian and anti-religious world for the joy of what children are.
So therefore, I feel that Christians need to explain what the hope of bringing people into the world is... what is the value of it? Why did God tell us to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth? I think the joy children bring us is likely to be a byproduct of the purpose of having children, not the reason for it.
My honest motherhood piece is this: if you think motherhood sucks, you probably just suck at motherhood.
Colossians 1:24: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church.” St. John Paul II wrote,
“The sufferings of Christ created the good of the world’s redemption. This good in itself is inexhaustible and infinite. No man can add anything to it. But at the same time, in the mystery of the Church as his Body, Christ has in a sense opened his own redemptive suffering to all human suffering
That’s why the Amish don’t allow cars. They want their families to live close.