One Important Way a Proverbs 31 Mother Invests in the Future
As my fingers start to move across the keyboard, my eyes fill with tears but there’s a smile on my face. That’s what happens when I think about my mom.
It’s been 14 years since I’ve been able to celebrate Mother’s Day with her, and I still miss her like crazy.
My mom, like so many, was a chauffeur, cook, housekeeper, laundress, counselor, painter (walls as well as canvas), gardener, nurse, teacher, party planner, nutritionist, beautician, and decorator. She was also a fabulous hostess, a voracious reader, and a talented seamstress (she designed and made my wedding dress). She could even shoot straight and scare away those critters brave enough to invade her garden to snack on her labors.
These verses from Proverbs 31 describe my mother well…
When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.
Proverbs 31:26–27
She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness.
I’d like to take a moment to tell you about a lesson my mother taught me . . . one that I disliked learning but something that has helped and blessed me countless times in countless ways.
It wasn’t a one-time lesson but one that was repeated with patience and determination again and again.
Any time I complained to my mom about a disagreement I’d had with someone, she would ask, “Why do you think they said or did that? What could you have said or done differently?”
Ooh, how I hated those two questions.
Why couldn’t she just agree with me?
Why couldn’t she just take my side?
Why?
Because she loved me enough to invest in my future.
I’m sure there were times when my mother agreed with me. And I’m quite sure it would have been easier to simply support me, agree with my frustration, and stand with me in battle.
But she was teaching. She knew it was more important to teach me about relationships than to make me happy for a moment.
She was being a Proverbs 31 mother.
And sometimes being a Proverbs 31 mother means saying the hard truth in the moment because you care about the future. Our Heavenly Father does that too.
He doesn’t always give us what we want when we want it . . . He guides and teaches through sometimes difficult lessons because He cares about the future. Your future and my future.
Even when it’s hard, moms (and dads) are called by our Heavenly Father to teach, influence, and invest in their children’s futures.
My mom knew it was important for me to know how to truly listen to people and understand other perspectives. She knew the importance of kindness and she wanted me to care more about having strong healthy relationships than about winning and being right.
As much as I hated it, she was right. Every time I stop during a disagreement to take a deep breath and listen, really listen; or make the effort to understand a point of view other than my own . . . I hear my mother’s voice, “Why do you think they’re saying that? and What can you say or do to make this situation better?“
So moms, keep doing the hard work, keep teaching important lessons, and keep investing in the future.
It’s God’s will. So, He promises to help. He will be with you and give you everything you need. Keep ASKing, SEEKing, and KNOCKing in prayer throughout this labor of love.
Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
Matthew 7:7
A Prayer ASKing God to Help You
to Be a Proverbs 31 Mother Who
Invests in Her Children’s Futures
Father, I ask that You would graciously give me and all moms the strength they need as they prepare their children for the future. It’s not easy to think about the future when you’re exhausted . . . when you’re just trying to get through the day.
Father, we need Your help and we need You to help us lift up and encourage one another. It’s so easy to criticize and judge each other. Help us to stop comparing so we can do a better job of loving and supporting.
Please help us focus on You and the wonderful task You have given us. Help us do our best to love our children in ways that will bless their lives and their relationships long into the future. Help us love like Jesus.
Please, by the power of Your Spirit, give us everything we need to live full of Your love and point our children to You . . . showing them and teaching them the healing power of Your love. May we faithfully lift our hearts in prayer. Please give us all we need to invest in our children and prepare them for whatever lies ahead. Please make me a Proverbs 31 mother. I pray this all in the name of Jesus, the One who invested in every part of our today, tomorrow, and forever through His life, death, and resurrection. Amen.
For those of you in the thick of parenting, and you know who you are . . . the ones with non-sleeping newborns, busy toddlers, “three”nagers, tweens, teens . . . in between or beyond, hang in there.
Being a Proverbs 31 mother isn’t easy. Sometimes your children will want to know why you won’t just agree with them and give them what they want. But it’s important—you’re investing in the future.
So:
When it would be easier just to be your child’s friend . . . remember, you are investing.
When it would be easier to give up or give in . . . remember, you are investing.
When your child declares you the meanest mom on the planet . . . remember, you are investing.
Even if they never appreciate it . . . keep investing, keep doing the hard work.
Here’s a verse to bless and encourage you. A verse to help you remember, God is with you as you invest in the future by investing in your children.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles.
Isaiah 40:31
They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
May God be with you and bless you today, tomorrow, and always. Happy Mother’s Day!
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I’m so glad your mother invested so much in you, Deb, as her encouragement definitely helped to shape the person you became and are still becoming. Praying that you, too, have a Happy Mother’s Day!
Blessings!
I hope you’re having a wonderful Mother’s Day, Martha! God bless you!