Gospel Reading Today Mathew 5:38-42
"....and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles." Mathew 5:42
In the vocation of Motherhood, the moment a child is born, we are forced to go one mile. Forced out of bed in the middle of the night, forced to give up your freedom, forced to feed the baby on her time watch, not yours...be it every 3 hours or every 30 minutes. In the toddler years, we force diapers on them (maybe not yours but that has been the case with all three of mine!), we force children in their car seats while singing "Lord Have Mercy, Christ have Mercy" (and a few curse words under your breath..), force them to eat fruits and vegetables, force them to get dressed, force them to brush their hair and teeth, force them to church, force them to clean up their toys....and the list goes on. We are constantly being forced to go one mile, but how many of us go the extra mile? The extra mile meaning not just the basics of child rearing, but the extra acts of disciplining them to be good stewards of the community by holding a door for someone, the extra mile of shaking someones hand and looking them in the eyes, the extra mile of saying excuse me when you are talking to an adult instead of rudly interupting you, the extra mile of talking to them about Jesus...light and dark...good and evil, going the extra mile of rising early in the morning to say your prayers for your children, husband and to help get you through another day of motherhood. And the list goes on of the different moments we have throughout our day of going the extra mile in motherhood. Now don't stress out or beat yourself up. I am constantly falling short of going the extra mile and tend to be way too hard on myself when I do fall short. However, "we can do anything through Christ who strengthens us". OUr greatest task in life is to care for our family the best we can and to raise these children to do good and follow Jesus. So striving to go the extra mile will only help us in this great task. I believe today that too many mothers are being idle with their time. On facebook, on the phone, consumed with shopping and being with friends.....anything to avoid the task of mothering God's children the best they can and going the extra mile for their family. This is dangerous living if you ask me. Do not look at the vocation of motherhood as being forced to go one mile. Instead, look at it as going the extra mile for Jesus and His Kingdom. With each moment of forcing children to do something, lift the difficult moment up as a prayer. These moments are only helping your faith become stronger and better your character.
Be cautious of things that can be forms of idleness. I am constantly having to be aware and asking the Lord to keep me from the diversions that hinder his daily Will for my life.
Keeping going that extra mile, Moms! You and your family will be blessed abundantly when you cross that finish line!
Blessings to you this Monday!
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