What bittersweet joy! To want something so badly, and then when you have it, you give it up as a matter of course. Jacobed tasted this truth when she put her son in the bulrushes to save him from genocide (Exodus 2). Hannah knew this joy by leaving her Samuel with Eli in the Temple (1 Samuel 1). Mary would live it out before the world as the story of her son Jesus was told through the centuries (Gospels). Eunice would experience it along with her mother Lois, as she gave up her son to accompany the great apostle Paul on his missionary journeys (Acts 16). But in a way, every mother has the bittersweet pleasure of wanting a child so much, and then raising that little boy or that little girl to grow strong enough to leave her.

    Except for cards mailed to late, or kids that forgot and will try to cover up their memory lapse, Mother’s Day is over for most moms. It’s Monday again, and they are back to the grind of the regular week. Some are back to the work of preparing their young ones to “grow their wings” so they will be ready to fly on their own. Others are in the serious transition of giving their child up to life for which they raised their precious one, for after all, graduation and wedding season are upon us now that Mother’s Day has come and gone. Still others are in the afterglow of motherhood, watching their own little ones, now long grown, raising children of their own. The cycle is endless, and if the truth is told, it is selfless and sacrificial service. That is the way of motherhood.

So what is a mother to do with this bittersweet gift?

    The time passes so quickly. Sometimes tumultuous, sometimes exhilarating, often times baffling, it passes quickly. That is the way God planned it. That is the way each of us is made. So what is a mother to do with this bittersweet gift? For sure, the answer to this question is as different for each mom, as each of her children are different from every other child God has carefully fashioned. There are, however, some truths that our biblical quartet of moms, mentioned earlier, can teach us.

• Each child is a gift from God — on loan to a mom for just a brief span of time, until God calls them to his path for his or her life.

• From infancy, they need to know about the stories and love of God from Scripture — it’s never too early to start with songs and words of faith.

• No matter how great your dreams for this child of yours, remember that God’s dreams and plans are greater still — never underestimate what God can and will do with your little one.

• Your work as a mom will be bewildering, hurtful, joyous, full of surprises, and hard work — but only because the work you do shapes the future and touches and eternity.

• While the call of faith may take them from you, it is made so that you may have them back for eternity, to share in the glory of grace in the great house of God.

    My prayer is that you, dear mom — whether an adoptive mom, a mom who has carried her child in her womb, or a mom who has never had children of her own but has mothered the children at church in faith — will know the joy of doing something wonderfully hard and that you hear the value Jesus places on your work when he says, “The greatest in my Kingdom is a servant.” (cf. Matt. 23:11)

Title: "Letting Glory Go"
Author: Phil Ware
Publication Date: May 14, 2001

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