Ministry vs Motherhood

As a mom, I am constantly feeling the pull between being with my kids and diving into ministry. When I am trying to decide whether to go to a ministry event, I think its easy with having two toddlers and a baby on the way to be sucked into the easy trap – it’s easier to stay home, it’s easier on others if we’re not there, it’s easier to not find a babysitter, etc.
 
But I STILL enjoy ministry! I enjoy meeting new people, asking them about their week and about their walk with Jesus. I keep thinking back to before I had kids and all the young women I got to invest in full-time.
 
Kids complicate things, which makes sense why Paul warns in 1 Corinthians 7 that being single makes you more available to live out the mission Christ has called us all to follow. BUT just because having a family makes it harder to do what Christ calls us to doesn’t mean we roll over and stop doing it! If anything, we keep pushing through to do what He calls us to do. Cause Paul also said in Romans 5:3-4, “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
 
Maybe you’re like me, feeling tugged between staying home or taking the kids out with you to invest in others. Or maybe you’re hiding behind your kids so you don’t have to do anything. Don’t get me wrong here! We all go through seasons where its really not possible to get involved in anything and we have to focus on our kids. But I would just want to challenge those hiding in feeling comfortable at home in their wifely/motherly duties – you are needed! Did you know that? NEEDED!
 
Here are 4 BIG reasons why moms are needed in ministry:
 
1. You are valuable as a person
You’re value as a human redeemed by God’s grace means you are needed in ministry! You have a story that is unlike anyone else’s story. Jesus drew you into a relationship that is personal and different from anyone else in the world. He sees you as valuable and as a useful tool to make Him known to others.
 
You come with your own unique set of skills, perspective, life experience, struggles, victories, talents, interests and more that could make the difference in someone feeling connected at an event, to understand the gospel, to feel understood in their current reality. I think its easy at times as mom to feel less human because we’re constantly taking care of other selfish little humans that can drain and diminish our once fiery souls. But Jesus doesn’t see you as less, stupid or unwanted – He sees you as a beautiful created vessel ready to be poured into and to pour into others.
 
2. You are valuable as a mom
Regardless of who you work with, you’re current reality as a mom gives you a depth and a perspective to give to others. I know you may not feel like you have much of either depth or perspective… or even the capability to think straight (especially when you’ve been up most the night with a screaming child  (uff ta!) but you DO have those things in you! Your kids teach you things about God’s character, about your OWN character (yikes do they ever), that people without kids do get to see. Just like people who don’t have kids or are empty nesters have a perspective to contribute to your life, you have something to contribute too.
 
3. Your family is valuable
In a day and age where more families are ending in divorce and being patched up, more and more people are afraid of commitment to even get married in the first place. Let alone the women (and men too) extremely burned by physical and sexual abuse by their families. You’re family isn’t perfect, but it’s valuable for people to see a normal family striving after Jesus together. It’s good for them to see healthy discipline, loving words, and fun interactions, but its also good for them to see how they can function as a family one day – the good, the bad, the stinky.
 
Not just you - but you, your husband and those rascals known as children make up your family. So how you and your husband interact with each other. How the two of you work with your kids. Its good for broken people to see how other broken people allow Jesus to redeem and make a family work in the world we live now. I am so grateful my husband does a lot so I can have time to interact with others in ministry, but I am also grateful other get to see how we work together (or how I can be snappy and mean and how gracious he is).
 
I remember as a college student seeing how different families did ministry differently from each other. I saw some moms as involved as possible, others barely involved and a lot in the middle. When I saw that I could still live out the Great Commission and have kids, it made me more excited to be a mom! When my daughter (my first) was born, I remember feeling like a part of me was awakened. I was doing full-time ministry for 5 years at that point and loved it, and when I became a mom a new part of the purpose I knew I was called to got to be fulfilled. But God didn’t make my calling different – I was still called to invest in others and share the gospel. But it just looked different than before. And I LOVED IT MORE! But I needed moms to go before me to show me what God had in store for me. YOU could be that needed inspiration for someone else!
 
4. Your kids are valuable
Family is my first priority in ministry, so I am not going to run them ragged just so I can feel like I am getting all the ministry time I want. BUT I also know that its good for my kids to see how Mom and Dad pursue and follow Jesus! AND it’s good for the people you’re investing in to interact with kids too.
 
One example was from our last retreat. I brought my kids, and struggled with how involved the kids and I could and should be. Later when I was meeting up a girl in discipleship, I asked her what God taught her at the retreat. She told me, “Ya know, the talks and discussion groups were really great, don’t get me wrong. But I think the biggest thing God taught me was an interaction I saw with Malcolm {my husband} and John {my son}. John had that bloody nose and Malcolm was trying to take care of him, but John kept fighting him. I realized that’s what I do a lot to God – I have this obvious problem that I can’t take care of myself but I fight God when He’s trying to take care me.” I remembered that moment – it didn’t last that long, but made a lasting impact on an outsider.
 
Our kids make others more at ease, make them laugh, help them feel compassion for someone else and so much more! And my kids get to see others than Mom and Dad talk about Jesus, praise Jesus, share Jesus and still have fun. Don’t get me wrong, they also can be big snots and be a distraction from time to time, but the benefits outweigh the negatives. My kids often talk and pray for the college students we work with like they are their best friends!
 
There is probably more great things too, but I’m a mom that struggles to remember all my points. But the point is that getting involved in ministry isn’t about me – it’s ALL about being faithful to what God has called me to. Sometimes that means saying no to bible study and yes to staying home with the crying toddlers. Sometimes that means making the trek to the weekly meeting with peanut butter sandwiches in tow for dinner so the kids and eat and play while we set up. Live in the power of the Holy Spirit and ask Him how HE wants to use YOU. You are valuable. Your family is valuable. Your kids are valuable. Let him be made known through the craziness known as your life.
 
Dear Lord Jesus, Being a wife and mom is hard on its own but how do I bring my crazy life into a ministry context? What is even possible for me to do at this stage of life? God, I don’t feel competent to do anything for you, but you have also said in 2 Corinthians 3:5 that you made me competent to do what you called to do. Help me to trust you to come through in my weaknesses and walk by faith in taking the next step. Help me to not sit in my comfort zones, but courageously be the woman you have called me to be with my family. Thank you for seeing me, knowing me and calling me valuable, even if I don’t always feel it or see it. It’s in your name I pray…

About Leah

​Leah works with Master Plan Ministries at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. Other than watching college students' lives change, she enjoys getting her mind blown by God and His Word, watching sci fi, baking cupcakes, and spending time with her hunky husband. 
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