Dear Young, Christian Mom: You’re not a Martyr You’re a Mother

Since when did motherhood become a place of glorified death? Since when did it become a place of recognizing what we’re losing, magnifying what we’re giving up, and trumpeting the daily challenges of raising our kids on social media?

I won’t deny there is a place of death that comes when we step into motherhood. We die to our own personal desires. We lose sleep, personal space, free time, body image, and much more. 

However, it’s not the tied to a stake, losing our literal lives kind of death. It’s the taking up your cross, hitting pause on other pursuits kind of death. It’s the death of self that draws us closer to reflecting Jesus. 

It’s the kind of death that actually brings us closer to true life. 

Motherhood doesn’t mean death to dreams, personal purpose, and calling. It means your dreams become multi-generational, your purpose extends into new places of passion, and your calling creates room to cultivate a little disciples destiny. 

It means you have a new mission.

Culture will tell you motherhood is at the bottom of the rung when it comes to being a successful woman. It will say you don’t have enough ambition if you don’t pursue a career. It will also say you’re failing your children if you do work, leaving them in the care of someone else. You’ll always be missing the mark, losing identity, and giving away personal freedom your entitled to. 

How much have we listened to partial truths and half lies? 

How much has the pursuit of equality costs us in regard to biblical motherhood?

When you choose to embrace motherhood, you choose to lay down your own life just as Jesus did. You choose to lay down self in the small, seemingly insignificant areas: cleaning up messes, making meals, doing laundry, repeating yourself a dozen times, and the list goes on. 

When you choose to embrace motherhood, you choose to carry a different mission: making disciples, taking the narrow path, being processed and pruned in private, laying up treasure in heaven, investing in a future generation, and the list goes one.

Dear Young Christian Mom, 

You’re not a martyr. You’re a mother.

And, this is the greatest calling you could ever have.