True Identity
A few years ago, after a hard, full day with a newborn and a toddler, I was hiding out in the bathroom getting five minutes of kid-free time. Naturally, I started scrolling through Instagram and came across a post of an old classmate pictured with her kids and captioned “my greatest joy, my greatest treasure.” I felt this immediate sense of guilt when I thought about how I had been counting down the minutes until my husband came home, and I could have some time to myself. “Am I a bad mom” I asked myself, “if I can’t say my kids are my greatest joy today?” In the quiet, God reminded me that I had been so caught up in my role as their mom that I had forgotten who I am first and foremost: God’s child. My joy shouldn’t come from my kids. Jesus brings abundant joy, and He should be my greatest joy, my greatest treasure.
This realization came as both a relief and a freedom. Knowing my greatest joy is not wrapped up in my children takes away the guilt when I feel overwhelmed, tired, or thankful for a few moments by myself. It takes aways the pressure to be the perfect mom who has all the right answers. I love my children, but they are not my everything. Christ is. And the best way to love my children is to treasure Christ. In doing so, I am able to bear the good fruit He calls me to bear.
Abiding Treasure
Treasuring Christ, or finding my joy and purpose in Him, isn’t possible if I don’t spend time with Him. Neglecting time with Jesus tempts me towards trying to find fulfillment and purpose in whatever else fills my day, whether that is my role as mom, at work, or even in a relationship. We are tempted to find our treasure in where we spend our time. It’s hard to treasure Christ if we aren’t spending time with Him.
In John 15:4-5, Jesus exhorts His disciples to abide in Him. The word abide in this passage means to remain in. Jesus even clarifies this in verse 9 when He tells the disciples to remain in His love.
Remaining in Christ means we find our purpose, identity, desires, and strength in who Jesus is. Abiding with Christ isn’t something we turn on and off or set aside for an hour a day. It’s a posture we carry throughout each moment of the day. It’s the posture Jesus commends in Luke 10:38-42 when Martha is frustrated that Mary has chosen to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen instead of helping her with the preparations. Jesus tells Martha that Mary has chosen what is better. The best thing is to sit at the feet of Jesus and to listen and learn from the Teacher. Mary treasured Jesus, and it showed in her choice to abide with Him and choose time with Him.
Practical Abiding
We aren’t able to physically sit at Jesus’ feet, but we are able to open His Word, to dwell on the truth shared in Scripture, to meditate on it day and night, to grow in our understanding of who God is, to obey the directions He’s given us, and treasure His Word as a lamp to our feet and light to our path. To follow Jesus’ exhortation to abide in Him, we need to spend intentional, purposeful time in God’s Word.
Let’s be realistic. We all know that motherhood does not follow a schedule. Motherhood is messy. It’s sick kids waking up at 4 AM, last minute school projects, and cleaning up glitter spills on the carpet. Finding time to open God’s Word doesn’t always feel easy to fit in every day. Setting aside intentional time each morning, afternoon, or evening to be in God’s Word is important. But equally as important is to remain in Christ throughout the rest of the day, too.
As the seasons in our lives as moms change, so too will our schedules. What worked to find time in God’s Word when you had young kids might look different as they grow up. And no two mom’s schedules will ever look the same. What works for one mom might not be possible for another. We shouldn’t compare ourselves to other mom’s, but I do believe that we’ve been given a wonderful opportunity to learn from other moms.
Over the years, friends have shared with me how they find time to spend sitting at Jesus’ feet as busy moms whether listening to the Bible on audio while doing the dishes, playing Scripture worship songs while folding laundry, reading through a children’s Bible with the kids each night, online Zoom Bible studies, or verses taped to bathroom mirrors. There are so many ways we can engage with God’s Word all throughout our day. As we fill our day with reminders of who Jesus is, we start to find our satisfaction and purpose in Him instead of the demands of motherhood or marriage.
Abiding in the Word is not about finding an hour each day and checking it off our list. We never turn off being a mom, and the same is true for our abiding in Jesus. We are called to remain and by doing so bear the good fruit of treasuring Jesus.
