The Nehemiah Mom

  If you and I are friends on Facebook (and, if we aren’t, we need to fix that,) then you are privy to my daily musings on motherhood. I’m not even kidding when I tell you that these confessions are usually written while hiding in the bathroom in a desperate attempt to steal just a moment – 60 seconds maybe – out of the day for myself. As mothers yourselves, I know you are not surprised to hear that someone is usually beating on the door long before my 60 seconds are up.   In this motherhood gig that we have, it’s easy to feel tired. Taken for granted. Used or, at the very least, used up. Maybe, you have reached a point when you have cried out to God, “What about me?” What. About. Me?   I thought about all of us as I was studying the book of Nehemiah this week. If you read Nehemiah 5:14-19, it speaks to Nehemiah’s generosity and selflessness. He talks about, while he was governor, he chose to not receive the governor’s portion of food that was due to him because it was a hardship on the people to provide it for him. He gave up what was rightfully his for the good of the group.   It also says Nehemiah persevered in the work he was given to do. In his case, the task he was given was to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem. You and I are given the task of raising warriors for Christ – men and women who love the Lord and share the Story. So, Nehemiah is crying out to the Lord and reminding him of all that he has given up for the good of others and how he has persevered in the work God had given him to do.   Isn’t that our story – as moms?   I think it’s funny that Nehemiah mentions giving up his food portion. How often do you and I give up food? We take the last scraps, the leftovers. We constantly make sure others have the good portion. I once read that a mom is someone who, seeing that there are four people and only three pieces of pie, promptly announces that she never really cared for pie. Self-sacrificing? Persevering? That’s the definition of a mom. So, how do you not get weary? How do you not feel forgotten? How do you not allow the seed of bitterness to take root?   I think the secret is found in Nehemiah 5:19. Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people. After explaining to the Lord all that he had given up and all that he continued to do, Nehemiah cried out, “Remember what I have done, Lord. Remember what I have done.” He trusted God to reward him for his obedience.   You, as a mom, give up things (daily) that should be rightfully yours. Your personal space. Your privacy. Any chance of quiet time. Sleep. Possessions. Then, in the midst of all you give up, you continue to persevere in the work God has given you. You train those young hearts. You prepare them for the world that awaits them. You give and you give and, then, you give some more. So, how do you not get bitter? You trust God to reward you for all that you have done for those sweet little people. And reward you, he shall.   Persevere, sweet friends. You are so loved.