My brothers and I, circa 1968.

Over the years, many of my young mom friends have expressed an uncertainty regarding their value and significance as a mom when they are in the trenches with little ones under foot. They wonder if they are fulfilling their calling…if they were made for something more.

As a mother, you do have a call on your life…a call placed within you from the beginning of time. It is no accident that you feel a responsibility to your children–that you feel conflicted when trying to climb the ladder of success or gain professional respect while keeping your home running smoothly and your children healthy and happy.You have an important mission to fulfill and it requires a great deal of focus and attention. Anything that takes you away from that, given that it is a part of your God-designed self, is bound to cause some level of stress and anxiety.

In The Mission of Motherhood Sally Clarkson defines motherhood’s mission this way: “to nurture, protect and instruct children, to create a home environment that enables them to learn and grow, to help them develop a heart for God and his purposes, and to send them out into the world prepared to live both fully and meaningfully”.

That mission is of utmost importance. As a matter of fact, it has eternal significance. It is a mother’s role to impart a sense of kindness, respect, purpose, vision, significance, morality, and love, as her spiritual legacy to her children. In order to do that, time must be spent in building relationships with those children. Hence, the value of: picnics in the backyard, reading a book in the overstuffed chair, playing in the sprinkler, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches together, and yes, sometimes, sitting by the bedside with thermometer in hand…taking the good with the bad.

Sally Clarkson describes our motherhood mission in this way: When our kids are young, we place item after item into their treasure chest, so that as they reach young adulthood and have to face the trials, worries, and day-to-day work of the real world, they can draw from that rich treasure chest of security and love.

Filling that treasure chest takes commitment, patience, wisdom, and time–time with your children so that they can absorb your values, observe your relationship with God, and learn from you.

And no, it isn’t easy to go against modern culture which says that you are not valuable unless you are bringing in a paycheck and contributing to the work-a-day world. The culture has denigrated motherhood more and more as the years have passed. But God hasn’t! His calling is as fresh and relevant as when he first created womankind.

If you would like to read more about The Mission of Motherhood, you can find Sally Clarkson’s book here: http://sallyclarkson.com/books/   It’s a great read!

“Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 11:19 (NIV)

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV)