“It will make Life easier…”
As I was tucking my 11-year old son in bed the other night he said, “Mom, can you go to the store early in the morning? It will make life easier.” My son, Jacob, has a cochlear implant. When he is not wearing his implant, he cannot hear anything. Since he already placed his cochlear implant in the dry-box for the night, I nodded, ruffled his hair, and smiled, in response to his question. I chuckled as I walked out of the room. “Make life easier for whom?” I said aloud as I smiled. He was so cute and innocent when he said it. It was Monday night, and since it was a busy soccer-tournament weekend, and I had a group project due for the doctorate program, somehow the fact that we ran out of lunch meant and bread over the weekend fell off my radar. My family already bought lunch one day, and Jacob was simply making an observation that if he wasn’t able to bring his lunch again, it would be a little more complicated, a little less convenient in the cafeteria for him. I was planning on going to the grocery store at 7:00 AM anyway because I needed milk for my coffee too. Besides, I wasn’t going to send my husband off to a full day of teaching without a decent, healthy sandwich in his lunch-box. And I know Jacob was looking forward to eating a turkey and pepperoni sandwich (hold the mayo and everything else – keep it plain); he loved them.
The next morning with my makeshift coffee (with creamer rather than milk) in hand, I pulled my hair back in its typical Warrior Woman ponytail, grabbed my winter ski coat and headed out the door. I was still chuckling about Jacob’s comment. As I drove, I thought about how important moms are. It’s so nice to have a mom whom you can depend on. Moms are great sounding boards for you as you talk about your day, solve relational difficulties with peers, discuss struggles, homework, sports, and your favorite TV show. Moms stay up with you all night – from infancy and beyond (whenever necessary), get up early to help you review for a quiz, drive you to school on days when projects are due and your mountain model won’t fit through the bus-doors. In elementary school, moms bring cup-cakes to school to celebrate your birthday and all of a sudden you have 28 close friends. Moms are especially important for young girls who have no idea what’s going on with their changing bodies and emotions. They are critical to have when eyebrows are too thick (and waxing and eyebrow tweezers become life-or death matters), shopping for school-clothes, getting hair-styles, and figuring out make-up. And for young boys, moms are essential to have in order to learn how to treat a lady. A young boy’s first love is his mother. Then, from that first relationship, he learns how to love himself and others. Have you heard, “However a young boy treats his mother is how he’ll treat his future wife?” His views of women stems from his view of and relationship with his mom. And the same is true for young girls in regard to their fathers. “Young girls may end up marrying someone like their dad because he was her first relationship with a male, and they base and expect the rest of their relationships with men to be similar. All of this happens on a subconscious level, but it does happen in some shape or form. And by the way don’t worry, if you (or your child) had or have an unhealthy experience with a mom or a dad, it can go the other way too. Sometimes, we learn from things that are parents did that were not beneficial to us, and so we decide not to engage in a relationship with someone like that in the future. So don’t worry, you (or your children) are not destined to engage in unhealthy relationships just because your (or their) mom or dad wasn’t healthy. But back to my point:
It’s such an honor to be a Warrior Mom – to be that driving force under our children’s wings that helps them soar, hope and dream. Granted, I won’t always be able to get up early and make my son’s life easier. In fact, doing so would not even be beneficial to him. This is why he does his own laundry, makes his own bed and cleans his own bathroom. He needs to understand that I am not his maid, and he needs to be accountable for himself. I don’t want to raise a young man who doesn’t know how to start a washing machine, and/or who thinks he’s above cleaning toilets. Humbleness and helping himself and others is just as important (actually more so) than handsomeness. But for today, I was able to “make life easier” for him, and as I arrived home from the grocery store at 7:35, poured milk (praise God) in my coffee, and made that turkey and pepperoni sandwich, I smiled. It is my hope and prayer that the things I do for my son (like getting up early to ensure he has what he needs for day) will transcend from me, to him, into all of his relationships, especially with his relationship with Christ.
I notice that by making life easier for others, it means that I experience inconvenience and sacrifice. I notice that God did the same for us by sending His son to die for our sins. Please know that I am in no way comparing my grocery store trip to the cross, but I am making the observation that when we commit to serve others, it means that we endure the work of that act. Easier for others=Inconvenience for ourselves. But I believe that it is so much more rewarding to give than to receive. In close, I pray that Jacob is the type of man who will rise up early for his wife, his children, his friends, and for strangers - and especially for God in order that he too can experience the blessing, honor, and thankfulness for his role as a servant and a Warrior for the cause of Christ.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:30
“He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire.”
Hebrews 1:7
I pray that your passionate service as a Warrior Mom ignites a fire of love and grace in your life - and in every life that you touch.
WMU!
Love,
Kristina
The Warrior Mom Ministry was founded by Kristina Seymour, author of The Warrior Mom Handbook – Equipping Women through the Word, a Bible study for moms who desire to live by faith in the midst of their everyday lives. Kristina has learned that moms can't survive on caffeine and animal crackers alone; women in the Word and in community are united and able to stand firm. To learn more about The Warrior Mom Handbook, the Warrior Mom Ministry, and to sign up for daily encouragement, visit, www.warriormoms.net.