MomStrong: Encouragement for Everyday Moms by Heidi St. JohnSample

Mothering For Every Season

With children of all ages and stages, it’s common for us as moms to fight against each season. There are a number of reasons why we push against a new season. Maybe it’s because we don’t like change, maybe we are afraid of what that new age or stage will hold, or maybe it’s fear that our children will not need us as much or uncertainty of how they will handle that new season. With newness there is always a letting go, a shedding of the old.

Today’s verse from the poetic book of Ecclesiastes tells us there is a new season for everything. In Ecclesiastes, we are reminded that even our lives themselves are seasons. So, we know it’s inevitable and biblical and for our own good, yet we fight against it. Friend, what would it be like if you stopped fighting each new season of your child’s life and instead embraced the beauty that it brings? Imagine the beauty that each day would bring if your prayer was “Show me what You have for me in this new season.”

That doesn’t mean that in beauty there is no difficulty. Ecclesiastes points out that with each new season there can be tears, scattering, grief, death, and fighting. (It’s kind of like putting your toddler’s pants on when they have learned to express their opinion on pant wearing)! The author is reminding us that, yes, there is bad with the good and good with the bad, but keep going, because it all gets us to the better story, eternity.

As you step into each season of your child’s life, pray for your heart as you shed the old and embrace the beauty of the new. Believe that God has a purpose for your child as your child grows and you prepare them to take that new step forward toward the mission field God has planned for them, and for you.

Read more devotionals like these in MomStrong 365 by Heidi St. John. Learn more about the book and Heidi here.