1) Acclimation Stage
adjustment
This
begins when you find out you are pregnant. You may think you can plan way ahead
of that but until you have a child forming inside of you it is just book
learning. Something deeper begins when you conceive a child. Something changes
forever.
Ruth 1:3 Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. 4 The two sons married Moabite women.
One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about
ten years later, 5 both Mahlon and
Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband.
Ruth was fully acclimated to being in Naomi's family - no turning back
Ruth 1:16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you
and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your
people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and
there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me
severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!”
Everything she knew was permanently
altered. Ruth would not leave. Even though her husband died. She was Naomi's
family.
2) Auto Pilot Stage
instinct
When women become mothers instinct kicks in. That is why it almost
doesn't matter how much practice you had with other peoples kids... your baby
is your baby. Unique yet a part of you. If you just trust God and listen to
that inner voice you won't need a training manual or even mentors . . . Once
the initial freaking out occurs a motherly instinct sets in - "I can do this" and amazingly you
just do.
Ruth 2:2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go out into the harvest fields to pick up the stalks of grain left behind by anyone who is kind enough to let me do it.”
Naomi replied, “All right, my daughter, go ahead.” 3 So Ruth went out to gather grain behind the harvesters. And as it happened, she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz, the relative of her father-in-law, Elimelech
Interesting that at this point Naomi called Ruth "My daughter" not DIL. It was Ruth's idea (not Naomi) to go out into the field to gather grain. Ruth's instinct / God's plan
It was God's plan that in that field she would meet her future.
When a new mom is on auto pilot it is just a matter of following her instincts. Instincts that God put there from the beginning. Motherhood is so much the character of God. The love and compassion He feels toward us causes Him to bring comfort, healing, and care. Not once in a blue moon - but every time we let him!
3) The Favor Stage
unconditional love
This
is the stage of motherhood that is the most rewarding. Your children are young
and dependant. To them you are everything and you can do anything.
The
word mommy is heard a million times a day. You are their refuge and their
world. This stage of motherhood is also the most crucial for your child.
It
is the time you can form them into the person they will become. Remember moms
being a mother is a job. And your job is to form a little person. They do not
come out formed. Your words carry
weight. Your actions even more so.
This
is the time to relish motherhood because you are the most important person on
earth. And believe me it won't last forever.
Ruth 2:19 “Where did you gather all this grain today?” Naomi asked. “Where did you work? May the Lord bless the one who helped you!”
So Ruth told her mother-in-law about the man in whose field she had worked. She said, “The man I worked with today is named Boaz.”
20 “May the Lord bless him!” Naomi told her daughter-in-law. “He is showing his kindness to us as well as to your dead husband.[b] That man is one of our closest relatives, one of our family redeemers.”
21 Then Ruth[c] said, “What’s more, Boaz even told me to come back and stay with his harvesters until the entire harvest is completed.”
A mom doesn't have to work at having favor with their children. They are too young to know all you do for them. Yet they love you so unconditionally that you can speak anything into their lives and they will believe it and they will receive it. Use this stage wisely.
4) The Trusting Stage
patience
When
your child becomes a teenage something awful happens - they realize they have a
mind of their own and they have the power to actually use it.
This
is when you need to believe that all the things you put into them will stay
put. And even if it looks like they are being led in the wrong direction the
promise of returning is in the Bible. All children stray from their mothers at
one point. Some not very far. Some become extremely distant. Some in
between.
Cutting
the cord and allowing independence is the hardest part of motherhood.
The
truth is you do know what is best for them, But your advice does not fall on
open ears.
This
is the time to trust God that as they test the waters they will do so with the
caution and wisdom that you instilled in them. One thing is certain - no matter what, they need to know that you
have not gone anywhere neither has your unconditional love.
Ruth 3:16 When Ruth went back to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “What happened, my daughter?”
Ruth told Naomi everything Boaz had done for her, 17 and she added, “He gave me these six scoops of barley and said, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”
18 Then Naomi said to her, “Just be patient, my daughter, until we hear what happens. The man won’t rest until he has settled things today.”
...
Ruth 4:3 And Boaz said to the family redeemer, “You know Naomi, who
came back from Moab. She is selling the land that belonged to our relative
Elimelech. 4 I
thought I should speak to you about it so that you can redeem it if you wish.
If you want the land, then buy it here in the presence of these witnesses. But
if you don’t want it, let me know right away, because I am next in line to
redeem it after you.”
The man replied, “All right, I’ll redeem it.”
5 Then Boaz told him, “Of course, your purchase of the land from Naomi also requires that you marry Ruth, the Moabite widow. That way she can have children who will carry on her husband’s name and keep the land in the family.”
6 “Then I can’t redeem it,” the family redeemer replied, “because this might endanger my own estate. You redeem the land; I cannot do it.”
Thank God that the wrong choice was not the road that Ruth took. God protected His calling on her life. Patience and trust was needed to see it come to pass.
5) The Rewards Stage
fruits of your labor
They say when a child reaches 19 or 20 they realize that though you were not perfect you gave it your all and they become sincerely thankful.Sometimes it doesn't happen until they have a family of their own but it will happen.
Rewards come to the mom who endured hardships and prayed in faith for their children. Blessings that are more rewarding than anything you felt up to this point.
The sense of accomplishment when they use your words to make hard decisions, or train their own child.
A friendship is formed that lasts a lifetime and will not be diminished or broken with time or distance.
And like Naomi who lost both her sons became family to her DIL who eventually gave her the greatest reward of all - a grandson.
Ruth 4:13 So Boaz took Ruth into his home, and she became his wife. When he slept with her, the Lord enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son. 14 Then the women of the town said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has now provided a redeemer for your family! May this child be famous in Israel. 15 May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age. For he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons!”
... 17 1/2 And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David. -
Obed was famous he was in the genealogy of the messiah!
Enjoy each stage of motherhood. You have been called to partner with God in raising up a future warrior. When it feels out of your control that is when you are on the right track.
God formed each person in the secret of the womb and knows the number of their days. He sometimes puts people in your life to open the door to your destiny.
A mother is there since day one. And even when they are gone from this earth, they are never gone from the child's heart until their own dying breath. She will always be the one person you wish was still there.
Every mom makes a permanent imprint. And sets in motion how the future will turn out.
It takes time, even a lifetime.
Moms, you have an invaluable job.
You have invaluable worth.
Happy Mother's Day
pw
5-8-16
