Mom Marathon Training

Have you ever trained for a marathon?  Personally, just the thought of such makes me sit down on the couch and grab a bag of chips!  I am truly impressed and greatly intimidated by people–and yes, I even know a few–who are that committed to such an endeavor. I will gladly sign up to be their biggest fan and strongest cheerleader … from the sidelines! But what if I paused for a moment and admitted, out loud, that I have been “in training” for a marathon that I never considered before?

Intrigued? Well, let’s call this the “Motherhood” Iron Man race, and reevaluate the terms and conditions of the registration and training process.

I remember holding my first child and being so very captivated by those sweet cheeks, that soft powdery scent, and those blue eyes. I promised that he would have the best of everything I could possibly afford, that he would go to the best schools, that I would be committed to “educational” toys that would continue to push him to excel, and that he would only watch TV programming that would stimulate him and prepare him for his years at Yale or Harvard or to study abroad. This all occurred within those first precious moments of swaddling him and feeling that sweet little cheek nuzzled into my neck.

Change of Plans

Now that I had his entire academic career worked out, I remember the overwhelming sense of responsibility for keeping a small person alive and thriving, growing stronger based on the decisions that I, as his mother, would be making on his behalf. There never was a question as to his growing up at church … my husband and I both are believers, raised in the church, and that was just the way it was going to be with all our children. It is still so very vivid for me when I glanced down into that little face and the Lord made me so keenly aware of a precious soul that He had entrusted to my care, my home, and my heart.

Satan tried to convince me from the very beginning that I was in no way qualified to “train up a child,”  and I will admit, some days he was right. And yet, it was those very doubts that started my training regimen for raising my children.

Training Regimen

I wish I could tell you that I spent hours on my knees crying out to the Lord. Some days I spent hours at the washroom, folding clothes and cloth diapers (yes, I’m an old mom) crying to the Lord for enough grace to get through the next pile of bibs and diapers and still be gracious. My training involved years of learning to listen and observe things my family needed. We added another son to our “team” and several years later we were graced with a daughter as well. The diaper piles decreased (thanks to the discovery of disposable diapers) but my time with the Lord was just beginning to grow.

My training regimen consisted of grabbing any spare moment I could find—such as discipleship while loading the dishwasher, memory verses while brushing my teeth, Bible stories that I would read to my kids while praying so very earnestly on their behalf. As I watched my children all grow into the very unique individuals that the Lord crafted each of them to be, I soon realized that there was no easy, 1-2-3, step-by-step plan to lead them to choose Jesus.   

“Because I said so” worked for many things, but I desperately wanted all of my children to choose to follow Him because they heard His still, small voice that called them to repentance and belief in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. There was no magic formula of Bible stories plus Vacation Bible School projects plus bedtime prayers to achieve salvation. There were plenty of tears from my heart, prayers that my husband and I would pray together on each of our children’s behalf, an urgency that wished and wanted and pleaded and promised, and yet, part of our “training” was learning to trust and to lean into God and His timing.