Have you ever heard the saying, “The devil is in the details?” Pretty catchy, right? It rolls off the tongue so effortlessly. A saying we use but never give much thought.
But as I’ve grown closer to God I’ve found that this saying seems much more suited to him. We serve a God that is more intentional than we give him credit for. In fact, if you look hard enough, you will see his nature woven into every fabric of our lives and motherhood is no different.
Motherhood with all the surrender and sacrifice it requires, so closely mirrors the relationship that we have with God that I’d be remiss if I were to believe that its not the main point of bearing children at all. Our relationship with our children and the type of love that it requires to sow into them well, gives us a tiny peek into the love that the creator of the universe has for us. So, let’s break down some of the things that motherhood has taught me about our relationship with God.
We Are Made in His Image and Unconditionally Loved
“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” -Genesis 1:27
We love our children with every fiber of our beings. From the moment we first lay eyes on their little cherub faces, we know that we will do any and everything for them. The epitome of love at first sight.
Although they may have been in our lives for just a short while, the impact that they make on us feels immeasurable. They grow and we notice that they have some of our quirks, they smile and we see that they have our dimples…we grow more in love with them each day.
This feeling of unconditional love that we have for these little pieces of us, running and leaping and growinng before us, is but a miniscule piece of the perfected love that God feels everytime he looks at us bearing his image. The laugh he crafted for us and the texture of each strand he placed on our head was designed intentionally and with a level of love we could not even begin to comprehend. But motherhood, if only just a small bit, reveals how powerful the love for one made in your image really is.
We Are Disciplined Out of Love
“The Lord disciplines and reproves those He loves, like a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.” -Proverbs 3:11-12
Discipline, probably the most draining aspect of parenthood and every child’s least favorite part of being kid. As a mother we lay out rules and guidelines hoping to keep our homes in order and our babies on the path to being good, upstanding members of society.
We have rules for what our children should eat and the time they should go to bed. We have rules for what they’re allowed to watch and listen to, who they can hang out with and where they’re allowed to go. The list seems endless. And if our rules are broken, well “insert your punishment of choice here.“
And although to our children it just seems that we have gone mad with power, all of the discipling is out of love. A desire to keep them healthy and safe. A desire to raise them up in the way that they should go so that when they are older they won’t stray away from it. In this same way God disciplines us out of love as well. Afterall, the 10 commandments weren’t written for his health. He desires for us to be healthy and safe and to have a beautiful life while we’re on this side of heaven. So, maybe when we’re in a season of pruning or working hard to exhibit the fruits of the spirit, we can remember that a good and loving God disciplines his creation.
We Do Not Know More Than The One That Created Us
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts”. -Isaiah 55:8-9
“Because I said so!” This statement is pretty much a right of passage in motherhood. Our mothers said it to us and their mothers said it to them. A phrase passed down from generation to generation that regardless of race or background, unites all mothers around the world. A phrase saved for the inevitable moment when your child has crossed the line of thinking that they know as much as you do. Mistakenly they think that they can continue to question your authority.
And why does this anger us so much? Well because as brilliant as they are they don’t come close to knowing as much about life as we do. After all, God made us the parent for a reason, didn’t he? We’ve learned more life lessons and are hopefully wiser for it.
If we see the audacity in our children questioning us, how much more foolish do we seem when we question the Alpha and Omega? He gave us our ability to reason in the first place and yet we use it to question every move he makes in our lives that we are uncomfortable with. Motherhood has taught me that just as I understand that I have wisdom my children don’t yet have, I need to humble myself before God knowing that he knows inifinitely more than I do.
He Is Always Working All Things Together for Our Good
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future”- Jeremiah 29:11
If you ask any mother what she thinks about the most, the answer will always be her children. They are always at the top of our minds. If we’re not replaying the day and analyzing it for ways that we could have done better, we have our eyes set on the future, planning how to give our babies a better life. There is nothing we want more than to see our kids prosper. God is no different with his creation.
The Bible states time and time again that God intends good for us but just look at the world around you and you’ll see his intentions to prosper us. The very habitability of this Earth is proof that you have a creator that cares about your needs and desires. Science calls it “the goldilocks zone”, the idea that Earth is perfectly situated with the right atmosphere, liquid water, chemical makeup and magnetic field for human life to thrive. I see it as a loving God that much like us as parents, continues to do whatever he can to provide a comfortable life for his children.
God is in the details and every aspect of his creation, including motherhood, is a way to bring him glory and to help us better understand his nature.
Leave a Reply