Millions of mothers will receive beautiful bouquets this Mother’s Day. Some mothers will gaze upon their fresh flowers with smiles as they are reminded of the children the Lord gifted to them. Some mothers will be reminded of the flowers they were forced to place upon their child’s grave. Still, other mothers in the midst of raising young children may consider how many weeds some poor woman had to pull just to make that bouquet.
Mothers are constantly tending their garden they call family. Sometimes it is blooming, other times it may be wilting, but there is always tending to be done in and out of season. A mother is constantly teaching, correcting, cooking, cleaning, cheering, picking up the pieces, arranging schedules and feeling more like an Uber driver than a mom. There is never a shortage of needy children and it doesn’t end when they are out of your house. Your children will always need you, just in different ways. For the mother of faith, there is an added burden.
Weeding out things that can harm our children is one of the toughest jobs a mom faces. Weeds can steal needed nutrients, usher in disease and eventually choke the life out of a plant if not removed. But we aren’t talking about plants, are we? The same is true with our children. Things seem to always be springing up around our children that can have the same effect.
Weeds of discouragement and self doubt are always in need of jerking out by the roots. Weeds that starve our children of their true identity and choke them with fear are constantly trying to move in on them. God’s word says that “sin easily entangles us” (Hebrews 12:1). As many weeds as moms pull on behalf of their children, I wonder how many pull the weeds of sin for their young.
Weeding is done on your knees and so is intercession for the sins of your children. Job was the most righteous man living on the earth during his time and this was a habit of his. “Job would send for his children and purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, ‘Perhaps my children have sinned, having cursed God in their hearts.’ This was Job’s regular practice.” Job 1:5
Job was in the habit of weeding out sin for his children. He wasn’t aware of their sins (as most parents are not), but nevertheless he covered them with intercessory prayers of forgiveness. For the God-fearing mother, this is one of the best methods for pulling the weeds that so easily entangle your children. A mother getting on her knees and asking God to bring her children to a place of conviction and repentance is powerful. You may not see your child bloom right away, but pay attention over time to how the Lord helps mothers keep the weeds of sin at bay.
Happy Mother’s Day to all of you mothers who continue pulling those weeds from Dirt Road Believer.
