“...and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed.” Luke 1: 47-48
Parenting isn’t for the faint of heart. I look back with great fondness on the years when my children were young. We homeschooled, memorized Scripture, read, spanked, visited the library weekly, and were at church every time the doors were open.
I read all the parenting books I could get my hands on so we could employ the latest greatest methods. I breastfed, sleep-trained, and thought I had the corner market on mothering. But life and human error have a way of catching up to us, don’t they?
Our kids grow up to have hearts and minds of their own, and our children eventually get to choose how they view with the world, others, and matters of faith. Hard-taught Scripture can get tossed out in favor of worldly wisdom, and it is here in this very space that mamas like me cry all the tears over failed formulas and a severe case of ‘if onlys’. Children no longer within our control can quickly lead us to our knees, begging for salvation, saving and the salvaging of what’s left of the damaged miry clay.
As we close in on Mother’s Day, I can’t help but think of Saint Mary. The most holy and blessed mother of all, yet I wonder if she was ever plagued with self-doubt, or fraught with worry for her son’s future. Did she hang with disappointment or ruminate when situations went awry? She was human after all. Did she falter in faith when Jesus chose the hardest, darkest path; was she broken and poured out as her son was broken and poured out? Mary’s highest hopes left longing, perhaps even burdened with a weight of her own flaws too.
“We only see in part, but one day we will see clearly.” 1 Corinthians 3:12
Yet, Mary looked up in what was surely her greatest moment of brokenness and beheld the cross. The saving grace of the cross. The best formula of all had not required Mary’s forethought, approval, or input at all. When despair sets in, we can turn upward as Mary did. We see in part, but one day we will see clearly.
Mamas, let’s look up together to behold the One who holds our children in His ever-loving, ever-purposeful hands. He holds us mamas too!
Sacred Scribblings 