As young mommies, we often find ourselves in a place of hiddenness during the
season when we are in the thick of childrearing. No matter our disposition, we
can all struggle with restlessness within
as our lives are no longer our own. During that time in my life, a story about David in the Old Testament came alive to
me. I trust it will speak to you too.
David, a shepherd, was the youngest
of eight sons born to a man named Jesse
who lived in Bethlehem. God sent the
prophet Samuel to their city to anoint
the new king of Israel. Unbeknownst
to Jesse, one of his sons was this king-to-be. While the glorious event of
anointing a king was taking place, David the shepherd boy was stuck out on
the lonely hills caring for the bleating
sheep. He lived a season of being unseen while looking after the lambs.
God actually seemed to frustrate Samuel as he was trying to figure out which
son of Jesse was “the man” until he asked,
perplexed: “Jesse, I’m struggling here because none of these seven guys is the one.
You wouldn’t happen to have any other
sons, would you?” (my paraphrase)
You can read the actual account in 1
Samuel 16:11: “Are here all thy children?
And he [Jesse] said, There remaineth
yet the youngest [David], and, behold,
he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said
unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we
will not sit down till he come hither.”
There was David, seemingly isolated,
occupied with the sheep. Yet, God was
there with him, promoting him day by
day! Now he would be proclaimed the
King of Israel.
God saw every little thing that David
did with his righteous character and happy heart. David chose to find contentment in his solitary circumstances with
those sheep. At the time it seemed as if
David was “nobody” compared to his
socially abounding and handsome older
brothers, but . . . God was up to something. This passage gave me such encouragement when I was in the middle of diapers, nursery duty, and feeling as though
I might be missing out on important stuff
that was happening somewhere else.
Think about this: Many of the Psalms,
which are forever recorded in Scripture,
were actually songs David sang as he was
caring for the lambs. Which of us hasn’t
benefited greatly from these passages,
time and again?
David found joy in the sacrifice of serving and kept a song in his heart! As a
homeschooling mother in our culture,
you have chosen the investment of sacrifice. You willingly lay down your life
and die daily for the greater good—
training up your child in the way he should
go. In order to serve the best interests of
this little one, you’ve chosen to give up
extended periods of sleep, spontaneous
Our death to the
triviality of worldly
pleasures brings life to
our whole household
and to us as well.
evenings spent with friends, uninterrupted shopping excursions, and all the other
options you took for granted for so long.
Your preferences and convenient lifestyle
are now sacrificed—put to death—for
this little person. But that’s not the end of
the story. Just as the death of Jesus on the
cross was not the end of the story, so also
our sacrificial “death” always brings life
in the kingdom scope of things. Matthew
16: 25 reminds us, “For whoever wants to
save his life will lose it, but whoever loses
his life for me will find it.”
2
Our death to the triviality of worldly
pleasures brings life to our whole household and to us as well. Death to my obstinate flesh has no comparison to the
life I’ve found. Saying “no” to my self-pity is a “yes” to embracing all the joys
of motherhood.
Oh, the life I’ve found—the infinite
joys of mothering, drinking in the sweetness of my sons, enjoying every age,
every new awakening, every middle-of-the-night nursing time, every new word
learned, every funny outfit they’ve chosen, snuggling close to read God’s Word,
hearing them proclaim new discoveries
as we walk hand in hand along spring
paths . . . these are pleasures not even a
queen can buy! Every day is a party with
my priceless boys—if I choose to enjoy it.
God makes sure we don’t miss out on
anything. Cling tightly to His promises.
He’s preparing us mothers for wonderful
things tomorrow, even as we’re involved
in wonderful things with our sons and
daughters today.
Denise Mira, author of No Ordinary
Child: Unlocking the Leader Within
Your Child, has been married to Gregory
for thirty-one years. They are the parents
of five sons. Denise has traveled extensively, both nationally and internationally,
inspiring change as she shares the message
God has given her for families. She would
love to have you visit her blog at www
. denisemira.com/blog.php, and she can be
reached at contact@denisemira.com. Find
her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter!
Endnotes:
1. LaHaye, Tim, Why You Act the Way You Do,
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1984 and Type
Talk by Otto Kroeger and Janet M. Thuesen, Dell
Publishing, 1988.
2. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973,
1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New
International Version” are trademarks registered
in the United States Patent and Trademark Office
by Biblica, Inc.™
