Who Puts Her Children First

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

DURING THE WINTER OLYMPICS a number of years ago, a commercial grabbed my attention. Inspirational music played softly over a series of short clips showing mommas picking up their little ones as they learned to walk, ice-skate, and ski. Then it captured these mommas getting their children to practice, finding what they needed for training, and lifting them up after they failed and fell again and again. We see the children and the mommas grow together. The commercial ends by showing the final results of all the hard effort: The athletes take the medal, win the race, or nail the jump. There at the end are the grown children turning to their moms, remembering who was with them through it all.

There’s a reason so many award acceptance speeches include the words, “I want to thank my momma.” Why? Because even though children might not find the occasion to say it out loud very often, they realize who was there beside them through everything. They remember the role their mommas played in all they achieved.

The Gospel of Matthew includes a story about people bringing their children for Jesus to bless. The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus corrected his disciples: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Our Lord saw the children and counted them as valuable. He proclaimed them important and invited them to come to Him.

Like Jesus, when we look at our little children, we cherish them. We see them through His eyes. And we remember that while the work might not seem important, the Lord values it and them greatly.

Momma, when our children are little, we don’t think that they see the love we show them by our daily sacrifices. But they are watching everything and coming to conclusions they don’t even have the words for yet. As mommas, we carry our love for our children in our hearts and our minds and show it through our words and our actions. But as we do this, it is so important to remember that the Lord loves them, blesses them, and declares that His Kingdom belongs to “such as these.” It’s for Him that we continue to make them our priority.

Tonight we pray for the momma who puts her children first. She sacrifices her sleep and her time, but some days she looks around at all she has to put down so she can carry the love she has for her children. It feels like so much. Lord, You know the power of this gift of love. Remind this momma that no part of her love has ever been wasted. You will use every bit of what she has given for the good of her children. Pour encouragement into her heart now. Bless her tonight.

We ask in Jesus’s name, amen.

Lord, help me to love my children well again tomorrow. For now, I turn over to You my concerns for them: