But honestly, the day to day task of mothering is HARD. It is difficult when the little ones first try to exert their will. When they suddenly don't want to eat the food that they ate 6 times last week, when they don't want to leave the store, or when they insist on grabbing the hair of the lady in front of them during worship. A mother may win battle after battle, but the war rages on.
No one tells moms-to-be that the reality is they will be living 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week with little ones demanding attention and who LOVE to push momma's buttons to make her blow her top.
"The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed." (Titus 2:3-5)
Today, our focus in this article is on verse 4. It is significant to me that Paul thought it important enough to tell the older women to teach the younger women to "love their children." Wouldn't most women you ask say they love their children? Not many would say they don't.I think it goes back to how we define love. Many times when an example of love is in the Bible, it is an active love. "If you love me keep my commandments," (John 14:15) and "greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you," (John 15:13-14) are just a couple of the verses that teach this principle. Let us strive to show our love by our actions to our children everyday.
"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth:" (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a)