The Most Important Step In Becoming a Good Mom is Putting First Things First

You are a good mom.  You know that now.  God declares it over you, you take hold of that and believe it.  You begin to become it.  So now what? What does a good mom do?

What’s first?  Where do we start on the path of having renewed and transformed minds?

With the most important thing.

Think for just a second.  What is the thing that is most important to you?  Not the thing that you want to be most important but the thing that actually is.  The thing that is awarded most of your thoughts and your time.  What is it?  Really think about it and identify it before reading on…

Did you come up with something?

There you have it.  That is the thing {or things} that orders your life.  Whatever is first for you is what everything else in your life is subject to.  It is what you worship and what your time, energy and even money bow down to. Your family may be forced to bow down to it too.

It may be that your answer is God but maybe not.

Now don’t leave yet.  I don’t intend a punch in the gut and I promise that this is not meant for any condemnation.  The opposite really.  Stay with me please.  I promise it is all covered in grace and love.

We are here because we want to walk in the truth of being a good mom right? We are often stuck though, in patterns of behavior and we don’t have a clue how to change things.  It is often the unseen, the hidden,  that keep us locked into what we would fight to be free of.

I hate the thought that I would have an idol {or idols}, that I would put anything before God, but that has happened in my life before.  And it brought so much grief into my life.  God is such a loving God that He wants us to be free of the painful cages we live in when we are seeking other things before Him.

Let me tell you a small part of my story.  I have loved God for a long time, walked with Him, served Him… but I kept seeking things that would fill me up, make me feel valuable.  When I began having kids I became overwhelmed really quickly (my twins are just 15 months younger than my oldest and then I had 4 more births over the next 8 years).  I felt like I was losing myself in all of the work of motherhood.  So I began looking for ways to “find myself.”  I longed to be good at it all, to keep my home well and hold everything together.  My time became spent more on seeking those things than seeking God.  Those things that I pursued began to control my life and continued to do so for a long time.  I never seemed to get on top of them.  I never seemed to gain control or achieve my goals.  That is until… until God spoke to my heart about them being first…being idols that I worshiped.

It broke my heart.  I was seeking other things first.  I was running to those things to fill me up, to fulfill me before I ran to Him.  Before I let Him show me my identity and speak to me the truth. 

Once God revealed this to me I was able to repent of my wrongful pursuit and smash those idols and give Him His proper place in my heart.  Sometimes it is a daily temptation to pick those things back up.  Sometimes I do.  But He gently reminds me that He must be first for me to overcome.

And I do overcome when I seek Him first. He gives me wisdom beyond comprehension, and peace and joy, even in the difficult times.

Now before you think this is all about adding to your to-do list I want to tell you that it is not.  Seeking God first is not about reading the Bible for hours a day.  It is not about praying about everything on your list before the crack of dawn.  No, it’s simply about acknowledging that God is Lord of your life. He longs to be your friend.  If we just learn to acknowledge Him in all of our ways He will guide our paths (Proverbs 3:6).  ALL of our paths.  Every other thing will be ordered by Him.  We will be successful.  Every other aspect of our lives will fall into place.  Including our mothering.  When we draw close to Him we will grow fruit, sweet fruit, that our children and husbands will taste and say that it is good.

When we seek God first we go to Him to supply all of our needs including our strength, comfort, love, acceptance, purpose and the list goes on.  Seeking anything else to fill those needs is not putting God first.

So you see, God already sees who you are, who He intended you to be from the start.  He sees the uniqueness of who He created you to be and you are beautiful to Him.  You are loved.  He calls you good.  A good mom.

Lay down anything standing in the way and allow Him to begin the good work in your life.  He’ll do the work.  You just follow His lead.

If your willing let’s pray this together:

Father,

I repent (change my mind) about this idol I have had.  I lay it down and acknowledge that you are God and you desire to be first in my life.  Would you show me how to put you first every day?  Would you teach me about your love for me and help me to accept it and walk in it?  As I do this I trust you to order my steps.  Thank you for calling me good and for doing a work in my heart so that I can walk in that truth. Amen.

I want you to know that I have been and will continue to pray for you.  God has given me a glimpse of His heart for you to be free and walk in every good thing He has for you.  It’s overwhelming really.  He loves you so!

Thank you for reading! You bless me! Please feel free to ask questions or share your thoughts.  You can leave me a comment or contact me.  I’d love to hear from you! I’ll meet you right back here on Monday with the next step in our series.

How can you begin to acknowledge God in all of your ways this week?