Guide older women into lives of reverence so they end up
as neither gossips nor drunks, but models of goodness.
By looking at them, the younger women will know how to
love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure,
keep a good house, be good wives. We don't want anyone
looking down on God's Message because of their
behavior.
Titus 2:3-5 The Message
When asked what her hobbies were, I will never forget
the answer I heard one mom say:
“Reading, Taking
Trips…my children.”
I
wasn’t the only one who was uncomfortable with her
answer. You could hear a gentle stir in the crowd as
others processed what she had said, and what it meant.
On one level she may have given a good answer as the
dictionary defines “hobby” as something we do for
pleasure, and being a mom to our children can be a
pleasurable experience.
But the full definition of “Hobby” is
An activity or
interest pursued outside one's regular occupation and
engaged in primarily for pleasure.
That was the nerve that was struck in the minds of me
and others – she was considering Motherhood to be
outside of her regular occupation and for pleasure.
Most mothers I know don’t feel that way their love is
not just there for the pleasure and enjoyment that a mom
can receive from her children – their love is there at 3
am holding back hair while her 5 year old is throwing
up. Their love waits still in bed till she hears her
teenage son return home from his date and heading safely
to his room. Their love is vigilant and motherhood IS
their occupation.
Most of us would never consider our children to be a
hobby, not in so many words, but in very many deeds we
treat them as our hobbies. A lot of us desire to
be Moms when it is convenient for us and we don't
have anything better to do for ourselves.
Moms, I want to challenge us to see our family not as a
weekend project to work on, or think of family in
“quality” time well-spent, but to see them the way God
sees them – precious, loveable, desirable, treasured,
unique, honorable, and clay that daily is formable into
His Image.
When we do this, we realize that there is something
better than having our family as a hobby, and that is
the joy we find as a family when we make our
family a prominent part of our lives in our #1
occupation as wives and mothers.
