Mothering Seen as a Kind of Death?

Here is something I found interesting that I recently read from a Christian site: A woman I greatly admire was out to eat with her grown kids. I complimented my friend about how great her kids have turned out. Suddenly, her face dropped, her expression changed, and I could see emptiness behind her eyes. "Yes my kids turned out great and I loved raising them. But, I lost myself in the process." The question then asked by the Christian author, "I paused and thought how do we fully embrace motherhood but not lose the other parts of us?"

Compare this to what Elizabeth Elliot wrote, "The routines of housework and of mothering may be seen as a kind of death, and it is appropriate that they should be, for they offer the chance, day after day, to lay down one’s life for others. Then they are no longer routines. By being done with love and offered up to God with praise, they are thereby hallowed as the vessels of the tabernacle were hallowed–not because they were different from other vessels in quality or function, but because they were offered to God. A mother’s part in sustaining the life of her children and making it pleasant and comfortable is no triviality. It calls for self-sacrifice and humility, but it is the route, as was the humiliation of Jesus, to glory."

Do you see the how completely opposite these two perspectives of motherhood are and how one is focused upon herself and the other one is focused on giving her life away for a greater cause than herself? "I lost myself in the process." What's inside of us to find besides who we are in Christ? Does God ever command for us to find ourselves? NO! He commands that we seek Him and His will for our lives which is to give ourselves away, deny ourselves, and the greatest of all is the servant of all. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service {Romans 12:1}.

Yes, being a mother can be monotonous, exhausting and difficult at times. There were many times that I was sick and each moment of the day was hard for me but when I look back, God ALWAYS gave me the strength I needed for each moment of every day. Now, I have been blessed with four children who love Jesus and walk with Him. I gave my life to raising my children, caring for their every little need and teaching them about the Lord. I didn't have much time "for me" in all those years of raising children and being sick. I knew that raising obedient children who knew the Lord was an assignment given to the Lord for me so I cherished it.

Then there are all the good things about raising children: when they laugh out loud; running to me to hug and kiss me; rocking them through their sick nights as they slept on me; watching them grow up to become good adults who chose good instead of evil. What can the world offer that is better than these things? Nothing. 

He maketh the barren woman to keep house,

 and to be a joyful mother of children. 

Praise ye the LORD.

Psalm 113:9

***If you plan on vaccinating your children, here is a great post about gently detoxing your child after vaccines. "Better yet, by waiting until between 2 and 3 years old, you can significantly reduce the amount of vaccines your child receives because they don’t need boosters (because their immune systems functions on its own- see point #2), and more importantly the blood/brain barrier (BBB) will be developed. Teething produces histamines, which are a neurotransmitter that causes consistent BBB opening, giving vaccine neurotoxins direct access to baby’s brain. Most babies are done teething by the age of 3." Good information!!!