Tomorrow is Mother’s Day

Part III – now to all women

You are Women of Promise. You are also Mothers of Promise. You are Eve. You are Sarah. Every man is born of a woman. Your caring nurture is our first taste of life. Your ribs were our home. Your body was our nourishment. Your heartbeat was our song. Your love was our security. Love us and then release us. We now need to seek the “rib” God has chosen for us.

Are you married, seek not to be unmarried. Are you unmarried, seek not to be married. If God presents you with the opportunity, weigh it carefully and choose God’s best for you.

If you are single, do not despair. Singleness is a blessing – Discern carefully about marriage – is it what God has for you or not? God needs women to be wives and mothers. He also needs women who can put all of their energies into His Kingdom work.

You are a ‘mother’ even if you have never married or given birth. God gave you a mother heart. Your mother heart reaches out to those around you who need a mother.

You are absolutely irreplaceable. God has made you for His purpose and His glory. As men, we are honored to be the recipients/observers of that glory. You have no equal. You have no challengers. You have no rivals. We are dazzled and mesmerized by your grace and beauty. We submit to the beauty of a part of God’s heart that He has not placed into us.

As men, we must be ever worthy of your notice. Make us earn your attention. We struggle to understand you. In many ways, we never will. God has put into your heart, parts of His heart that we do not have. You will always be an enigma, a puzzle to us. You will always be a challenge to us. You will always be a fascination to us. That is OK. Real men love that about you.

We grew up as your little boys but, we are destined to be great men of God. Like Hannah with Samuel, direct us to Godly men to grow us into God’s servants. That is where we get the dynamism of God’s strength to be men. When mothers hold on to us too long, we get confused. Give us space. We will grow up. It will tear at your heart but, we will come back to honor you. I promise.

Require integrity of the men in your life. Many will rise to the challenge. A friend told me that he did not know how to be a man. His girlfriend told and showed him. Today, he is a great husband and wonderful father with a family of happy children. You say, it should not be that way. I understand. I agree. But what are we going to do? Turn down all these men and then what?

The current dating/courting scene is confusing. For about two generations now, Dads have done well in raising their daughters as princesses. There is a problem. For every princess we raise, we need a father to raise a prince. Somehow we missed that step in the equation.

What to do? Men can learn. We can be slow but we can learn and we need your help. Enjoy the challenge. We are not your fault. Understood. But we need to work from where we are and here is where we are.

Study the Godly women of the Bible- The prayerfulness of Hannah. The faithfulness of Ruth. The courage Of Esther. The devotion of Mary. The vision of Deborah. The industry of Dorcas. The faith of Lois and Eunice. The determination of the “great” woman of II Kings 4 and the amazing woman of Proverbs 31.

See how God used these gate-keepers in unbelievable ways to bless their world. These women had dignity and courage. God made these women strong. He also gave them a song. Their songs told God’s story in their lives. Their songs were God in their lives. Do not allow their bigger-than-life experiences to discourage you. Just be faithful in the place God has called you to be. Use His strength. Sing His song.

If you not married and want to marry, marry a broken man. You will never be sorry. As men, we are dangerous when we are not broken. We are wonderful after God has broken us. It is not your job to break us. But, it is also not necessary for you to allow us to misuse you. You are not a door mat. You are not a tool. You are not a toy. You are allowed to say no when ‘no’ is called for. Say no gently and firmly. Do not be our mothers. You are our wives, not our mothers. Love, claim and defend that vocation with all of your heart.

If your marriage is struggling and your husband does not heed your appeal, get help. Seek help until you find the needed help for you, your husband and your family. You say, it should not be that way. Understood. But if it is, then be the keeper of the gate of your family. It is not wrong to do that.

You are the bride and men need to be the bride groom like Jesus is. Jesus earned the right to be the bridegroom by suffering and being willing to suffer for His bride. So must men be willing to be like Him.

In ancient Israel the daughters were busy, working with men to build the walls. And next to him was Shallum the son of Hallohesh, leader of half the district of Jerusalem; he and his daughters made repairs. Nehemiah 3:12

Together we are the image of God. You need us and we need you. You can count on us to join you as you join us and together we are the keepers of the gates.