Fighting the Me Mentality...(It's not about me continued)

Remember the words to that good ol' MJ song,

"I'm starting with the man in the mirror, 

I'm asking him to change his ways,"

I wonder how often we really do this? It's so easy to point out the sin in others, but rarely do we like to hold the mirror up to ourselves. All too often we make excuses.  We expect others to change, but rarely do we want to do the work to produce change in our own hearts, in our own lives.


So, this is what God has been doing in my heart. It is here, being a mother that I am learning to fight the "me" mentality.  It’s not about me! Whether you’re a mom to four or one, being a mom is about selflessness...plain and simple.

There are many times I would rather be _________, or can't wait until he/she is __________, or I'm just plain exhausted from the demands of the day and ready for the kiddos to get in bed, so that I can have my "me" time. 

Ahhh...."me" time! Doesn't that sound so good?

Sometimes, especially towards the end of the day, "me" time just won't get here fast enough.  Wanting and needing a "me" time is not all together a bad thing. There are definitely times when one needs to recharge and I am thankful that I have a wonderful husband that supports me in this way, so that I can offer my best. 


However, there are other times when I need to stop and ask myself the hard questions. 
Why are you rushing through bed time? Was that tone really necessary? Am I expecting too much of my kids? Did I have fun and did I enjoy my kiddos today? 


So, this is where I've been...learning how to balance and at other times how to fight the "me" monster.  It's a daily fight. Being a mom, continually exposes my sin, my "me" centeredness and continually challenges me to lay down my rights, my wants in order to better serve my family.

Dr. Voddie Baucham, a pastor and theologian defines love as “an act of the will accompanied by emotion that leads to action on behalf of its object..”  It’s an act of the will to lay down your rights, your time and your dreams in order to serve those whom God has entrusted to your care.

As I reflect upon this, I am reminded of a book Tim and I read early on in our marriage called Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas. The whole premise was about what if God designed marriage not to make us happy, but to make us holy; to expose our sin and draw us closer to Himself.  I see that same picture here as I relate to my children. What if God is using motherhood as the setting by which he exposes my sin and draws me closer to himself? 


I believe God is using this season of my life and how I relate to my children and husband as a mirror to expose my sin and draw me closer to Him, so that He can reflect his beauty to others! The biggest “others” being my children and husband! 

Psalm 139: 13-16 says....
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

My children and the way they are wired is not by accident. God designed them with a unique set of wirings and giftings.  It was no accident that He gave them to me to shepherd. 

And what if....just WHAT IF...He created them that way and divinely entrusted them to us not only for the ultimate purpose of bringing glory to Him, but also to work out sin in our own lives!

God is using my children and the "way He created them" to grow and stretch me! 

When disobedient issues come up or I find myself consumed with those "I would rather be______  or I can't wait until_______ ," moments, I know there is a "me" battle raging within my heart. It is here that God is drawing me to Himself and helping me to grow in patience, selflessness, serving others, perseverance, grace, self control, and etc…

It is in these times that God really shows me where my heart and/or my thinking needs a "God-shift."  My prayers are now “Lord, what do you desire to teach ME through this and how can I best instruct my child? 

Please, change ME!

Through the awesome and challenging path of motherhood, I am realizing more and more the truth of Colossians 3:3 

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

I need Him and am dependent upon Him to help me be the mother and wife He created me to be. This job is too huge and so much is at stake, but the rewards are ETERNAL! Who would have thought that such an unassuming role like being a mom could be the place for such Kingdom impact. But then again, He did use a carpenter to accomplish His redemptive plan for the whole world! 

What if God is using you and your role as a wife and mother...your season at home...your season homeschooling...your season of _________ as the setting by which he exposes your sin and draws you closer to Himself!