Motherhood is from Jesus and it’s for Him
About the writer
I’m Cathy. The words at Light Duties are written by me. My husband and I have six children, which means I have been a mum for a while. The older kids are teenagers, the youngest is four. Except for one daughter, they are boys.
I’m in both the ‘older mum’ and the ‘mother of young children’ groups. I am doing several stages of mothering all at once, from toddler to teens. I’m hoping my situation gives me sympathy for the young mum, because the work of the early years is still something I am doing for some of my kids. I still feel it in my bones. I’ve also been doing the early years, constantly, for a long time. I’ve been slow cooking in the sanctification, learning what Jesus is giving us in this time of life. Being changed by Jesus.
For many reasons, I was not set up for good or happy mothering. I don’t write as a master, but as someone who has been wading through mud for a long time, someone who has found solid ground only when the Lord Jesus has put it under my feet. It turns out, the Lord’s ground is a good and vitalising place to stand. He gives more joy in his own way and time than I could ever snatch for myself.
Working out good motherhood
I’m writing for the Christian mum who is at the sunrise of her mothering work, the time of opportunity. The time when it’s hard to know what’s good and when it’s hard to be happy. The time of laying foundations for future faithfulness. It’s also the time when it’s easy to take shortcuts. Shortcuts are costly. They cost mums, husbands, children, churches, the world, the present and the future. The cost isn’t usually obvious at the time.
I am not addressing all women everywhere. I’m writing for women who are Christians, in their first decade of mothering. Mothers who are further down the track are working out how to be godly with the effects of choices they can’t unmake. They need to hear the same truths applied differently.
We all want to be good mums and we want to like doing motherhood. The only way to grow into both is to have deeper roots in God’s truth, expecting that God’s truth will change what we do. Deeper convictions make us better mums with lighter hearts. Working through God’s word, scouting out the features of faithful Christian motherhood, is my project at Light Duties.
Why comments are closed
Given that one of my main goals is to persuade Christian mums to be more invested in the good work of motherhood, I don’t want to create something which distracts from it. I am aiming to make your online time as rich as possible in as few minutes as I can manage.
I’m not trying to build an online community. The time you would spend commenting, and the time I would need to moderate comments, is time you and I owe elsewhere. The community mums need has already been provided in the local church. You might not be enjoying the fullness of that community yet, but don’t underestimate what God has given in the ordinary local church.
That’s not to say that what I write is the final word, that there is nothing to talk about and no one to talk with. Pray—talk to God about motherhood, it’s ultimately his gig anyway. Open your Bible and hear. Talk with your husband. Talk to your church elders. Find godly women who know you in real life and seek their counsel. While I hope this blog prods thought and action, my prayer is that it builds into the face-to-face relationships you have.
I am happy to receive your email, but cannot guarantee a response. I would love to engage with every conversation which could be had, but that is not what the Lord has provided much time for these days. My writing time is limited to the hours before my kids are awake. There is more to be done than time to do it. If your questions and comments will benefit others, I will respond to them in the course of future articles.
What you can expect
One article at a time, we’re asking what Jesus has to say about good motherhood. Lord willing, articles will be regular, every week for a year. Bonus content will inevitably appear (because I’ve already written it, and there are more than 52 articles). Comments will be closed, so this doesn’t become a sinkhole sucking attention that’s meant to be elsewhere.
Start a conversation with friends
Talking about motherhood can be awkward. Most of us only have a few people with whom we have enough relational capital to ask risky questions. Perhaps Light Duties articles can help?
Reading a stranger’s words, evaluating them together, debating words on a page can allow us to talk through some issues without anyone feeling personally confronted. I’m offering words to read and talk about, in the hope of having clusters of mothers maturing together. And attached to those mothers, families and churches and communities enjoying the fruit.
Since I’m trying to steer conversation offline, maybe you could plan to meet regularly with a small group of Christian mums to talk about a few articles at a time?
Each piece will happily stand alone, but the sense will be richer when the articles are read in order (hence why you’ll find them #numbered. It looks ugly but at least you’ll know where you’re up to!). Think of it as a book delivered half a chapter a week, across a year. Be sure to subscribe if you want to keep track of them all.
About the photographer
Anything that looks good at Light Duties is the work of Taire Wilson. Anything which doesn’t look right is because I’ve fiddled and gotten it wrong. Taire and I belong to the same church, a church which has loved her from early teens to the present. These days, Taire is married and mothering her own little ones. I’ve known Taire for about fifteen of those years and she’s known me well enough to be around when one of my babies was born (yes, actually there).
Taire loves Jesus and his Bible and his church. Apart from relying on her for any design or photography problem I need solved, I am always keen to know what Taire thinks about things. The Lord has given Taire a desire and a gift for thinking carefully about the Bible’s view on everything in her path, at every stage of life.
Taire takes photos which pause ordinary moments and remind us that they are glowing with a beauty we often miss while we’re in them. I’m so grateful to have her images alongside my words. You can find Taire at Scout’s Honour. (So you know, the photos are taken spontaneously in many families’ homes. They are mostly not of my own.)