Moms

by Becky Hunter

"A week ago, during the worship service, Joel asked the children in the congregation to come to the front of the sanctuary. Hundreds of them made their way toward him ... several raced or hopped, some walked down the aisles and waved to the rest of us like they were running for office. And a few tiptoed along after getting nudged toward the stage by parents who had decided they were going to get their little guys where Joel had invited them to be. Once the kids arrived at the front, Joel proceeded to interview many of them about who they would choose to be, if they were to participate in the Christmas story. The whole scene was endearing and, at points, pretty hilarious.

While I sat there and listened to their answers to his questions, I suddenly became aware of some very special adults in the room—moms. They were easy to spot as they leaned forward, listening intently while trying to see their children. I remembered what it was like when we had young sons who were going to be seen and heard in a public setting. Kids are kids and what they say and do can send their moms to the heights of rejoicing or the depths of despair. When moms are in the thick of childrearing they may overlook how much God uses their young children to encourage other folks. Even if our children don’t always say what we hope they will or do what we dream they might, they do reflect God’s goodness to this world in ways that adults no longer can.

While the Bible doesn’t give us much insight into Jesus upbringing, it does mention that when Jesus was born Mary “pondered” what others were saying about Him (Luke 2:19), and it states that when Jesus was 12 years old Mary “pondered” what He was saying about Himself (Luke 2:51). Scripture doesn’t give us a clue, though, about Mary’s parenting methods. We have no idea whether she was a “Tiger Mom” or tread very lightly around her 100% God/100% human child. 

The lack of information on how Mary parented her boy leads me to conclude that God is less concerned about a specific method of parenting than He is that a mom sees herself as “the Lord’s servant” (Luke 1:38). Maybe we actually have more information about Mary’s role in Jesus’ young life than we think we do, at first glance. Mary had chosen to be the Lord’s servant and because she took on that role, God trusted her enough to raise His son.

Jesus had the mom God chose for Him and He “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men" (Luke 2:5). Our children have the mom God chose for them. Ponder that and serve God well."

Picture: Camille and I. She was 2 months-old.