Successful Moms of the Bible

Mary

Motherhood changes you, there is no doubt about it. From the first moment you suspect you might be carrying a child, to the moment you see the ultrasound picture that resembles a strange, alien-looking being, to the moment of the birth, and for every single moment thereafter, a woman's life is changed when she becomes a mother. And even when a woman becomes a mom through adoption or via the village concept, she too is forever changed. Motherhood, somehow, opens your heart in a way I can't explain. It's as if caring for another expands your capacity for love and somehow makes you caretaker of all, if only in your soul. And this larger, more open heart exposes you to all sorts of concerns, worry, and scenarios you never would have thought of in a million years. Yes, motherhood changes you.

Somehow, within an instant, we go from frolicking carefree through life to worrying about everything. Did I buckle the seat belt? Is the car seat even installed correctly? "Is she still breathing?" you ask as you tiptoe into the room. You know the silent monitor is probably working—but you really need to see your child's stomach rise up and down to confirm that your precious one is still alive. You don't want to wake him up—no mom ever wants to wake a sleeping child. (After all, naps have got to be special gifts from God, a little message reminding us that our Lord is indeed merciful!) As the precious child grows to a not-so-precious teen, you still worry—perhaps even more. Is she texting while driving—or tuning the radio or talking to her friends—instead of watching the road? What if his friends offer him drugs? Or what if the bully…? Moms worry!

Motherhood Changes Us

Motherhood changes us! A friend once told me she had prayed all her life, but during the first year of her marriage, she had prayed more than she had prayed in all her previous years combined. I laughed. But then, I got married and I prayed. And when I had our first child, my prayer life expanded even more. From the beginning, I prayed for God to cover our child and protect our child and for our child to grow healthily, know God's love, make lifelong friends, and love school and her teachers and…

Motherhood calls you to pray more and pray often. We can finally get 1 Thessalonians 5:17 down. "Pray without ceasing" (KJV) or, as the New Living Translation says: "Never stop praying"! The writer of Thessalonians must have been close to some moms when he wrote that verse, because motherhood makes you pray—all the time. It's really the only way we juggle the overwhelming task of mommyhood with the crazy mission called life!

But there's a mother in the Bible who doesn't look as frazzled as my mom friends and I do discussing the latest issues while keeping one eye on our children during their playdate. (Aren't playdates another blessing?!) There's someone who was called to raise a king, the Savior, our Lord, and she looks pretty calm every time I see her in the Bible. You know her as Mary, mother of Jesus. I see her as a model of peace and tranquility in the midst of craziness—and I mean real craziness. Oh, Mary? Please tell us how you did that. Your life was interrupted and changed forever when the angel Gabriel appeared and made that announcement, but still you took it all in stride (Luke 1:26–28).

Mary, a Beacon of Wisdom

I don't see Mary fighting to get Jesus into the best day care program because that will lead to selective enrollment in the top kindergarten, which leads to the best college! (Huh?! Really, the method you use to teach our children their colors determines their future college admissions? And the price tag for those early-childhood programs could very well pay for an Ivy League college education!) I don't see Mary stressing over how many kids to invite to her son's birthday party—or even the venue—and scheduling it four months in advance and preparing just the right take-home goodie bags. (What happened to parties where cake and ice cream were enough and playing pin the tail on the donkey was a really big deal?!) I don't see Mary working late at night to create yet another class project or filling out college applications for her children because she's afraid they won't make the deadline and they'll never get into any other school and then their lives will spiral downward and… No, when I look at scripture, I see a totally different picture of motherhood in Mary. She doesn't seem fazed by the clarion call of mommyhood. She isn't cloaked in worry—the by-product of attempting to maintain control over every iota of her children's lives—like most moms I know. What I see when I see Mary is calmness and peace, a demeanor that eludes today's soccer moms.

Studying Mother Mary teaches us how to raise children in a crazy and cruel world. She is a beacon of wisdom and demonstrates the attitude moms need in order to navigate through the overwhelmingness of mommyhood while crazily trying to do life at the same time.

How do you do it, Mary? How can you be so calm while raising kids—while raising Jesus? Please share.

Piecing together Mary's story throughout scripture may give us moms some clues.

Like us, Mary's life changed immediately once she heard those words: "Congratulations, you're pregnant!" The Message translation actually says it more accurately. It records that the angel Gabriel showed up, greeted Mary, and said, "God has a surprise for you" (Luke 1:29–33). Now, that's a line for every mom to remember: God has a surprise for you! And yeah, while Mary's surprise was a little more surprising than any mother's I know—that producing-a-child-before-having-sex part—I believe that line is still true for every woman whose life is changed by nurturing and caring for a child: God has a surprise for you! Now Mary did have a few questions for Gabriel when he thrust that news upon her—and who could blame the woman?! I can hear her asking, How is this so? I've never been with a man. Oh my, what will Joseph say?

Whether God has chosen you to be the mother of the Savior or of a president, a teacher, or the next person who will grow up and show love and care to another (you know your child has all of that potential bottled up inside her little body or teenaged heart), apparently learning that you've been called to the sacred task of motherhood puts you in a new mode. You are forever changed. You know you are called to serve and nurture and care for someone precious, even more precious than yourself.

What a daunting task. What a surprise God has for you!

Mothers Are True Servants

Mary shows us how to handle this amazingly awesome task. It's almost as if she took in every word dear Gabriel had to say, processed them rather quickly, and came up with her wise conclusion. Mary hears the angel Gabriel, in all his lofty language. She hears his words and knows he means more. I can hear her wondering, So, yeah, Gabriel, you say I'm going to have a child—even though I haven't been with a man yet? This must be some child, some miracle. And what if, just what if, I were to believe you and think I would produce the Savior of the world this way… may I ask, why me? I'm not noble, I'm not the prettiest. I haven't even been the best. I'm just a little country girl trying to get through this life. I have someone who wants to marry me and I think we can settle down and have a good life. But, you say, it's going to be a lot different than we've dreamed, huh?

Within just a few moments, Mary continues to take in this life-changing news: I know Joseph's a good man, but come on… you think he's going to believe I got pregnant miraculously? Yes, you say. Well, let me tell you one thing—I'm going to have to let you and the good Lord handle that one. If you say Joseph will go for it, great, but you're going to have to make that one work out on your own. I already know there are some things in this life I just can't deal with—so that one is on you and God, Angel Gabe.

Gabriel returns with: Don't worry, Mary. This is just the beginning. Your motherhood journey is going to be one for the books. The Almighty God knows motherhood is no easy road, but God is going to surprise you, my dear. You are going to be amazed by the child God gives you. You're going to be filled with wonder at everything he does—and blessed by what he ultimately does for the entire world. And, just for the record, I like your attitude. Remember to let God handle that really tough and perplexing stuff—you don't need to understand everything if you're willing to trust God.

And almost instantly after she gets out those questions Mary accepts the news of her pending parenthood and says, Okay, I'm up for this. I'm God's servant. How do I get started?

Mary was a wise chick. Clearly, she understood—more than many of us—that one big part of motherhood is service. From changing diapers, to wiping off spit-up and washing and washing and washing clothes, to carpooling and shuffling around town to baseball and tennis and swimming and ballet and piano and birthday parties (oh, the birthday parties), to cooking vegetables and cutting them in cute shapes in hopes that someone, anyone, will eat them and grow up to have strong bones and healthy teeth… yes, healthy, nonexpensive teeth! Mary accepted that mommyhood meant taking a backseat in your own home, going without so your children can have. Staying up late and rising early—all in the name of the children. She understood that servanthood was a huge part of this mommy thing. And she openly and gladly accepted it.

Whoa, mother of God! She should be considered a saint… no joking. Many moms, myself included, still struggle with the servant word. We love our kids, Lord knows we do, but do they have to need us all the time? Do you really need to call my name one more time? Can I just use the bathroom in peace or talk to my girl pal for fifteen uninterrupted minutes? (I really do miss talking to her—ever since she was blessed with her first child nearly fourteen years ago!) Just one moment is all we crave, just one—without the threat of returning to find paint on the walls and the one precious figurine from Aunt Claire broken! Can I get one moment, please? Um, no, you're a servant now! God has a surprise for you.

I think when we begin to see ourselves as Mary saw herself, as a servant of God, we can handle those duties with a little more grace and patience. We are in essence working for God, tending to the souls and care of the little ones and the older ones in our charge. This mommyhood thing is a sacred task, and we have been assigned to it. In all its glory and in all its messiness, we have been selected and chosen to be called mother.

Okay, I see myself as a servant now, a servant of God, called to nourish and guide and lead this one toward adulthood, independence, citizenship… Yes! Our task is no slight one; there is no greater calling. But how can I, like Mary, break out into the Magnificat (Mary's praise song in Luke 1:46–55) because of what God has done, because God has chosen me to serve these particular children?