Motherhood Is Our Weakness
By Laura Carpenter
A page from my diary – may it be an encouragement to you, whether you find yourself in a “good” season or a hard one.
Dear moms: “My strength is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness.”
Here is our trap: We knowingly and unknowingly view motherhood as our strength. But motherhood is our weakness. We think that we can plan and prepare and dream and structure in such a way as to carve and mold out the children’s hearts that we dream of. But we are broken. We will not do things perfectly – and I’m not saying this as a “just expect that you will blow it.” I’m saying this as a flat truth: We cannot prepare and structure and plan and teach in a way that will shape our kids’ hearts as we desire. We are not equipped for that task. But our merciful Father is perfectly equipped, and He chooses to use us broken vessels to steward these little hearts.
Motherhood is our weakness. When we see this ... and let go of the “Instagram life” that’s “just right,” then God’s power will be abundant for every bit of shaping and molding that those precious hearts need ... even in spite of our many shortcomings. The truth is, we will never be sufficient for any role God gives us – not in our own strength. So, every new “thing” brought to your plate is a new area where the light will shine on your weakness. Even when it is a thing where God seems to have well equipped us in ways that so many spiritual inventory or earthly assessment tools would label “strengths,” it is then a possible area for pride and boasting.
Weakness. Oh Lord, help us then to boast all the more gladly in our weaknesses and cling to you desperately for all of Your perfect strength.
“Let the lowly boast in his exaltation and the rich in his humiliation.” James 1:9,10
“But He gives greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” James 4:6
“God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times you may abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8
Laura Carpenter is a glad daughter of King Jesus who strives imperfectly to know and love him more with the time God has entrusted to her. She is an abundantly blessed wife and mother of four sons (ages 21-14). She resides in Nashua, NH where she is a member of Trinity Baptist Church, teaching middle school girls on Sunday mornings and volunteering in children’s ministry. Her “paid” work is in an emergency department as a physician assistant.