Hey Momma, I see Mary in You-What Mothers Today Have in Common with the Most Famous Biblical Mom
By: Hannah Dearth
As a parent, do you ever question yourself? Was I present enough, intentional enough? Did I do my best? I do. All of the time. Then, at the same time, I feel guilty for feeling all of these things. In a lot of ways, I think we are not that much different than one of the most famous biblical mothers, Mary (hows that for encouragement?).
Mary felt all of the things at some point in her parenting: scared, worried, overwhelmed etc. Really, it wasn’t the feeling that mattered as much as it was the faith. You can have the feelings with your faith, as long as the feelings don’t control it. I think that’s a really important reminder to us as mothers.
The scripture says that when Mary was to give birth and the angel came to her and gave her the news, she had faith. She believed. However, she still asked “How will this be?”. This question was different from the one asked by Zechariah when the angel came to give him news of his son (later known as John the Baptist), “How could this be?”. She wasn’t doubting, she just wanted more information. It seemed she just wanted reassured. She had a lot of understandable feelings, feelings in fact that a lot of mothers have today when bringing a child into the world, actually.
When Jesus was born, and throughout his life, the Bible says Mary would reflect on special situations and “treasure them in her heart”. Don’t we do this today? We take mental notes. Time is flying by and we don’t want to forget these moments with our children.
Even though she knew Jesus had a greater purpose, and that he was the son of God, as a boy when he was separated from her she was still anxious. Don’t we feel that?! We want to know that they are okay. We want to know that we are doing what we can. Our children, while not the son of God and Savior of the World, are God’s children too. They (like all of us) were made for a bigger purpose, and we have a job to do to disciple them and raise them up in His name knowing that one day they will return to Him- just like Mary knew with Jesus.
We want to do a good job. We want to be faithful, intentional, and present parents. We want all of these things, and I would say that if you are thinking and worrying about if all of your efforts are enough... that’s a sign that you are doing the best that you can. It is not a sign that you aren’t faithful or built to be your child’s parent, it’s quite the opposite. You are designed to be that child’s parent and you too, are chosen by God. You are trying to be a good mom, follow Him, and working for your child to as well....
...so give yourself a break. Hold your faith over your feelings. Treasure these moments in your heart. If you are in a season that you need to ask “How will this be?”, that’s fine. Just make sure that you get on your knees, and when you ask that question, like Mary, that you are asking it to the Father, and not to this world.