A Mother's Love

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. You still have time to get her a gift. And don't forget to call her. Texting is not enough.

Being a mother is literally one of the hardest jobs on earth. Moms are simultaneously chefs, stylists, and WWE referees. And mothers give up so much to take care of their kids.

• Mothers sacrifice their time. Until you have kids, it's hard to imagine how much personal time children consume. Moms can't even have a private moment behind the locked door of a bathroom! We should all be grateful that our moms sacrificed so much of her time for us.
• Mothers sacrifice their careers. Some mothers stay home, and some continue working. But regardless of their choice, it will affect their careers. The time they dedicate to their families means they cannot dedicate the same time to their work that someone without kids can. There are only 24 hours in a day. For many, it may mean refusing a well-deserved promotion so they can care for their children.
• Mothers sacrifice their finances. Moms could be going out on the town every night twice and picking up the bill for the squad. Instead, they choose to pay for daycare, diapers, and chicken tenders.
• Mothers sacrifice their sleep. If you find a mother who has children under three and says she regularly gets a good night's sleep, they are not real mothers. They are probably Russian spies or something. I would investigate, there might be a reward for turning them in. Beginning the day a child is born, and continuing until at least 25, moms miss out on thousands of hours of well-deserved sleep.

This list is far from exhaustive, but you get the point. Moms sacrifice a lot for their children. They don't do it because they are forced to, some mothers don't. They don't do it because they need to. It would be perfectly acceptable not to have children. They give up all those things out of love.

Their greater love for their children expels their love for sleep, money, and time. Kids are their priority and everything else can wait. This is what the Puritan Pastor Thomas Chalmers called, “The expulsive power of a new affection.” Meaning, that when a new love enters our life old lesser loves are expelled.

Tomorrow we are going to see how a deep love for God can expel lesser and destructive loves from our lives. We will explore how we do not need to focus on stopping bad behavior, habits, or desires, but on deepening our love for the Father. It's a helpful concept for all Christians to embrace.