Day 1: A Good Work

Photo by David Brooke Martin on Unsplash

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Gard of Eden to work it and take care of it. 
-Genesis 2:!5

Head:  Just as soon as God created the first human being, Adam, He gave him a job.  He had life breathed into him, was taken to a perfect paradise, the Garden of Eden, and put to work as a care taker.  He was entrusted with the responsibility and was also given authority.  God handed him a precious gift, a treasure, into Adam's hands to watch over and protect as he saw fit.   As Adam saw the fruit of his labor, he also found delight and enjoyment in the task of attending well to what he was given.

Heart:  Isn't this true of motherhood?  We are given God's greatest treasure to care for and nurture.  When we had our children we were handed a great responsibility and our God trusted us with each sweet soul to raise up.  God gives us work to do.  Like a garden that we are to tend, our children are the fruit that we produce.  Our work as mothers might feel some days like a job, the responsibility for caring for our home, raising our family, and serving the church can definitely all feel like work.  It's a good work.  Our Heavenly Father wants us to find enjoyment and sastisfaction as mothers.  He gave each of us unique gifts and skills to raise our children up.  Not one of us will raise our children the same, but we all have the same God who is our ever constant guide.  He wants us to view our work and effort as a service to Him.

I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.  That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil - this is the gift of God.  -Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

Hands: Our motherhood is a gift to us.  It is a work  that uses our intellect, love, resources, strengths, and creativity to produce productive and useful adults who will one day continue the work that you have started in them.  Your influence in their daily lives today, will shape them into the men and women God will use for more good work.  We must also be careful not to fall into the trap of working for work's sake, to idolize our children in such a way that we love them more than the Father who gave them life.  We must give our children back to Him daily.  They were His first and He loves them more than we can ever imagine.  Giving them back daily helps to remove worry and stress as we are trusting God to be sufficient in all the places we can not be. Our work might feel tedious and never ending, but only if we don't see God's bigger vision, His eternal perspective.  Once we understand that we aren't living for today, but living for eternity, we care rest in that God is always sovereign.

Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God. - 1 John 3:1

Prayer: Lord Father, thank you for the gift of work that you have given me in raising my child(ren).  Help me to always remember that I am serving You when I work to be the mother my child(ren) needs me to be.  Give me wisdom and strength to do a good work.  Lord, I will do my very best for You, but where I fall short I trust that You are sufficient to meet our needs.  Help me keep a perspective that You loved us first and so my work will always be honored by You and I will see the fruit of my labor.  Thank You Lord, In Jesus precious name I pray, Amen.