“For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.” Hebrews 10:36
This is the vision I see: If mothers rise to be gatekeepers, making their homes places of excellence, cultivating love for each other as well as reverence and worship of God, spending personal time teaching and discipling their children, serving them through this training and nurture and giving up of her own time, there will be hope.
When mothers abandon this great and important responsibility, there is a greater tendency for children to become the kind of adults who can be self-centered and self-serving; who can overlook unrighteousness without any pang of conscience—because that conscience has never been developed. They become the kind of adults who can passively let others take responsibility for our government and country--to accept and validate those who would promise the moon even though the moon isn’t available in reality.
For this gatekeeping to occur there must be hundreds—thousands—of dinners made, laundry loads run, backs scratched and cookies baked. There must be watercolor projects and messes, hikes and games of hide and seek, money spent on wonderful life-giving books and concerts and the theatre. Time spent ministering to our children is time well spent, because that investment grants us the door to their hearts. When their hearts are soft to us because we have ministered to their needs, their minds will also be softened to hear our values, our convictions, and our guidance.
Moms, the way you invest your life today will indeed have a great impact on history. The cultivating and raising of great souls is of the utmost importance. Your life is making a difference. Take time in the word, read those books which call you to excellence, spend time praying with friends of like mind–and don’t give up!
Our culture doesn’t put much value on endurance. Yet life requires it! Determine that you will endure to the end regardless of situations. Just making that decision goes a long way toward accomplishing it!