I am now a Mom of 27, 25 and 20 year old humans, approaching my 27th Mother’s Day. I often reflect back on all the stages and struggles and sweetness and experiences I have walked (or trudged) through on my Motherhood journey, with a desire to share something helpful or encouraging to other moms. Yet because there is so much it usually feels impossible to condense it down to one blog of readable, or writeable (not a word I know, let me live) length.
Today however, I realized something. Most of the learning and growing and even wisdom I have as a mom can be summed up in this beautiful statement:
God sees me, and he cares for me.
Being a mom can feel like a long journey in being unseen or misunderstood. From middle of the night feedings, to cleaning vomit out of beds, to listening to whining over and over, to being pushed away by teenagers, to going months without looking or feeling cute, to working so hard to make a sweet memory only to have children (or husband’s) complaining- there are lots of moments where the good you are trying to do goes unseen by those around you.
But not by God. He sees every sacrificial act of service, every patient conversation, every thankless load of laundry. He sees it all and he cares for you in it. He He cares about your feelings and hurts. He cares about your desire for connection, your need to protect and cherish your children and your equally strong need to have some space and time for yourself.
Less comfortably, God also sees every self righteous, prideful thought. Every selfish statement, every loss of self control and every ungrateful attitude. To be seen, really seen, means being known in both strength and weakness. But in both, God cares for you.
In his love for you, God often allows the daily grind of motherhood to wear on us: so we will turn to Him for the strength and joy that only He can give. He also allows hardship to enter our lives: so that our hearts can be reshaped and aligned with his heart through persevering and trusting Him. He even allows distance and estrangement with our children at times: so that we can remember the distance he created at the cross between Himself and his child for our salvation. Not everything that happens to us as Mother’s is good. But God brings good out of it. Not everything we do as Mother’s is good, yet God still works even our failures and sin and weakness for good.
One of my favorite stories in scripture is about a mom who was mistreated, cast aside, afraid and hopeless. Her name was Hagar. In Genesis 16 and 22 we read her story. In one of the most beautiful verses in scripture we see Hagar’s encounter with God and her name for God is El-roi “the God who sees me”. God saw her as a pregnant mother to be who felt trapped in an unfair system as well as 14 years later when she was suddenly a single mother who was homeless with no way to provide even the water she and her son needed to stay alive. In both instances, God sees her AND shows his care for her by giving guidance and provision for her need. There is no indication Hagar’s circumstances were radically changed, or at least not quickly. However, in experiencing God personally she was changed. She had hope and the ability to keep going because she knew she was not alone. God saw her, heard her prayers and met her in the lonely places.
God sees you too, Mama. Whether you are in the early stages and sleep deprived or almost to the finish line of high school graduation and feeling panicky about letting go- cry out to Him for comfort and help and guidance. He sees you and he cares for you. You can trust him to help you parent at every stage, to comfort you in sadness, to correct you in sin and to stay present and connected to you.
He sees you and he loves you. Happy Mother’s Day.