As a mother, I’ve observed how my daughter watches me. In some cases, I think she learns more by watching what I do than by listening to what I say.
As a child of God, I want to be a Godly mother, but as a human, I’m a sinful being. With my flaws and insecurities, I’ve been wondering…what do I want my daughter to learn as she watches me?
I want her…
To learn forgiveness – to see me ask for forgiveness and to forgive others, just as God forgives me.
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Colossians 3:13 NIV)
To learn to trust – to see me trust God, even when life seems out of control and I don’t understand what’s going on.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5 NLT)
To learn to be in God’s Word – to see me read and study my Bible and spend time alone with God in prayer.
…be an example to the believers with your words, your actions, your love, your faith, and your pure life. (1 Timothy 4:12 NCV)
To know without a doubt how much God loves her and that nothing will separate her from His love – to know it’s a promise found in Scripture and to believe it’s meant for her.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39 NLT)
To learn to live by faith – to see me turn to God in everything, to have faith in the hope and promise that Jesus brings, and that I don’t have to see it to believe it.
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. (Hebrews 11:1 NLT)
As a mother, I want my daughter to know that no one is perfect, especially not me. I rely daily on God, and anything I can do, I do because He gives me the strength and ability to do it. God does the same for her. As she grows up, she will discover her strengths and weaknesses and I pray that she learns to turn to Him in everything.
It is so necessary that our children learn from watching our faith journey unfold. I want to model Jesus as best I can to them. One area I am working on more is accepting God’s great love for me, so that my children will know, beyond a doubt, that God loves them. Beautiful reminders!
Thank you Barbie!
Laura-I so very much enjoy the scripture references that you are using. Of course, I can’t get enough of Gods word and it seems that every single one speaks to me in my current and every day situation. Thank you so much for putting these out there! Pam
Pam, thank you for your kind and encouraging words!
I so desire all of these things for my daughters, as well. They will probably never see a home kept in perfect order…okay…definitely won’t. But I pray they WILL see my relationship with the Lord. And that their little hearts will learn to turn to Him in everything more and more each day.
Welcome to 5M4F! So great to have you here! 🙂
Thanks for the welcome Kimberly! Some days I do better than others in being a Godly mom, but I keep trying. And then I think, maybe it’s good for little girls to see that too – we struggle, but with God’s help, we keep trying!
In Christ,
Laura
This is a great reminder of the legacy we leave our daughters. My daughter is a new bride; and this encourages me to solidify what I want my daughter to learn from my life as a mother, a wife, as well as an imperfect woman who seeks a God that is perfect, and full of grace. Thanks for spurring those thoughts.
Hi Karen, thanks so much for visiting and for your comment!
Blessings,
Laura
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