The Simple Life at Home

And then the Lord gently nudged me and told me that I did indeed.

Perhaps it's not in the way that the world recognizes.  I can't paint, sculpt or draw.  I'm not good at putting together things in an artful way.  Scrapbooking is simply way too time-intensive for me.  I never learned to knit or crochet or do needlepoint.

The creative talents the Lord reminded me of are those of a mother.  I don't mean those little kid crafts that every mother, at some point or another finds herself drug into.  Nor do I mean those horrible art projects that we end up doing in the wee hours of the night because our child has suddenly remembered that it's due first thing in the morning.

No, the creativity that I'm speaking of is that of molding and shaping future adults.  It's really an amazing thing when you think of what parents do.  To take a tiny infant - a blank slate - and teach them everything they need to know to not only survive, but to become godly, successful adults, well, that's a work of art that rivals those of Michelangelo and DaVinci.

What we do as mothers is infinitely more valuable than a mere statue or painting.  While art contributes beauty to the world, the raising of godly children has the potential to change the world.  If you consider the sphere of influence that one person can have, the knowledge of what a family of God-fearing people can do is tremendous.  To know that we can raise a generation of people who want to serve God and others, and to understand the impact you can have upon generations of family is to truly understand the calling of godly mothers.

I challenge you, and myself, to keep our eyes on the goal we have as mothers.  It's all too easy to get bogged down in the daily-ness of life: laundry, meals, wiping noses, and running errands.  But if we are able to keep focused on the long-term goal of our parenting, we will be rewarded in the end.  

We are living in a culture that is full of ugliness.  Sin and destruction abound. Let us be the ones who are bringing our own form of great works of art to the world.