God tells us in Isaiah 43:1-3a of his intimate care for his children. Then, he tells those of us who are his children not to fear.

Why did he tell us this? Perhaps, it is because it is our human nature to look at the circumstances of life and to become afraid. We so easily forget that God promised that he will bring his children safely through trials and will lead mothers and their young to heaven.

Isaiah 40:11 is perhaps my favorite verse when it comes to motherhood:

Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arms He will gather the lambs and carry them gently in His bosom. He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

If you are God's child, Jesus walks with you in your parenting. He carries your children. He gently leads you! Isn't that a comforting thought? We can rest in that.

The admonition "Fear not" is especially important to wives and mothers. (I Peter 3:1-7). Have you ever noticed that when you learn you are going to have or adopt a child, you find things that you could worry about that you never thought of before!! You hear all kinds of information about the dangers of childhood. Your toddler finds things to stick in his or her mouth that you never dreamed of.

Then, new challenges come. Before you know it, they're out there driving in heavy traffic! You couldn't wait to get your own license, but it's a different thing altogether now that your baby has turned sixteen.

If we aren't careful, we mothers can take our eyes off the Lord and turn them to the "what if's" of life. The cure for that is to fear the Lord and not our "what ifs".

I look back now and see how God helped us through so many adventures in life and how he's still working in the lives of our family. It's my sinful nature, though, to be easily distracted with the worries of life. When my children were small, I found out that my mother was dying of a slow and painful disease. The church we were in faced some heavy questions about unity and direction. I was in a minor car accident with my children. Though my children were safe -- praise be to the Lord -- my neck was injured, which set me up for chronic pain. Also, my young and healthy body suddenly faced physical challenges that made me feel older than my years.

In the midst of all that, I found myself not doing as Jesus commanded, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own."

If I was doing dishes, I was thinking how I needed to travel to help my dad with my mother. If I was with my kids, I was thinking of the dishes in the sink. If I was doing something with church, I was thinking about the things that needed doing at home and vice versa.

It wasn't always like that, of course. God gave me many wonderful times of faith and blessing. Still, that sin of worry was definitely a factor in my life.

If I had to do it over again, I'd be more in the moment. I'd would trust more in God's love and meditate more on passages such as Isaiah 43:1-31 and Isaiah 40:11. I would focus on whatever I was doing in that moment and let the next task worry about itself. Those moments with our young children are so precious, and they pass so quickly. We don't want to spend those moments in distraction, which is what worry is.

To overcome this tendency takes a growing faith and trust in God. I think we as women underestimate the effect that having a faithful, gentle, and calm spirit has on our household, on our neighbors, our friends, our extended family -- on all the people with whom we interact. (I Peter 3:1-7). God says this calm and gentle spirit is beautiful in his sight. Even if we are down to our last mustard seed of faith, God says he can do wonders with it.

Sometimes, we need the help of others to pray for us and to teach us from God's word and their lives how to have this calm and gentle spirit. I know that now, even though my children are adults, I still get advice and help in parenting from my husband and my closest friends in the Lord.

Having faith helps us to set priorities in parenting. If we understand from verses like Isaiah 43:1-3 God's desire to have an intimate relationship with us, we will place our highest priority on helping our children have a great relationship with God and with us. Of course, we want to teach them the practical aspects of life: how to study, how to work, etc. However, we will seek for them Christ's righteousness and his kingdom first. (Matthew 6:33). Our emphasis should be on character and obedience.

Too often young mothers become uptight over issues like potty training, when their child gives up nursing, if they are nursing just right to help their baby, when their baby walks, etc. Later on, they may focus on how their child dresses or make issues of other things.

A good question to ask ourselves as mothers is, "Is this a question of love, faith, obedience, or character? Is it a question of relationship?" If not, is this something I really want to make an issue of? Generally, a child has an inbuilt time for things like potty training, giving up nursing, walking, etc. We may need to help them gently, but these things are seldom issues of character and are generally not worth having battles over.

For example, suppose your child is old enough to make some clothing choices for him- or her-self. The child dresses modestly. However, the child's taste is quite different from yours --at least in this stage of life. If the child is not sinning in the mode of dress, perhaps you might allow them to make some choices you wouldn't make. Kids outgrow fads, anyway. Now, if the child's choices reflect immodesty, impurity, selfishness, undue materialism, or a general attitude of rebellion -- that's another matter.

Enjoy!
Elizabeth

He Calls Me by Name!
Part II: Moms and Isaiah 43:1-3a

Being a mother has taught me a lot about God's love. God uses many examples drawn from the parent/child relationship to teach us truths about his infinite and perfect care for us. Whenever we need to understand this better, we can turn to these examples for help.

In Isaiah 43:1-3a, God tells his children that he formed them; redeemed them, and called them by name. He says to them, "You are Mine!".

God created us. He formed us. Thus, he knows what makes us tick. He knows what we need and when we need it. He knows what makes us sad and what makes us happy. He knows what is best for us, even when we can't see it ourselves.

It's exciting to me that he calls His own by name. This idea is made even more personal in John 10:3-5, where Jesus tells us that God calls his individual sheep by name.

"and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out..the sheep follow him because they know his voice and a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee."

Jesus offers us such a beautiful intimacy of relationship! Jesus watches over each of us who are His. He invites us to know him on such a deep level that we respond to His voice. He invites each of us by name to follow Him.

Isn't there something special about hearing someone you love or care about call your name? Do you remember being picked to be on someone's team for a game on the playground? Weren't you glad to hear your name called? Didn't it make you feel wanted? Or, was there a time when your name didn't get called or you got called last? Do you remember how forlorn that made you feel? I do.

Or, was there ever a time in your childhood when you were frightened by the dark and you cried out? Did you hear a parent call your name as he or she came walking toward your room? Once you heard your parent's voice, didn't that make everything all right? If a young child is upset, he doesn't respond well to a stranger's voice. He wants Mommy or Daddy.

Even now that I am an adult, I love my husband's voice. If I am upstairs when he comes home and I hear him calls my name, it delights me. If he travels out of town, and I hear his voice on the phone, calling my name, it comforts me.

In the same way, if we know Jesus, we love hearing his voice in the Word. We run to it. We seek it out. We follow the sound of his voice. We obey his teaching, because we trust His love and wisdom.

In listening to Jesus' voice, we are protected from following the stranger's voice. The stranger's voice calls to us loudly and often. (Proverbs Chapter Nine)

Sometimes, the stranger will disguise his voice so that it seems innocent. When Jesus spoke of going to the cross in Matthew 16, Peter tried to stop him. Perhaps, the cross didn't fit Peter's view of what the Messiah had come to do. Or, perhaps, he didn't want his teacher and friend to suffer.

Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's." Jesus knew God's voice, and he knew that Peter's advice at that moment was not in line with God's will. He looked past Peter and saw Satan's influence. His intimate knowledge of God's voice kept him from following some well-meant, but totally wrong, advice from a beloved disciple. In the same way, we need to know Christ's voice so intimately that we will not follow the stranger's influence, no matter through what source it comes.

It won't be until we get to heaven that we finally see the Lord face to face. Right now, we hear his voice through his word and through His Spirit within us.

In the same way, our own voice is the first thing our children will hear in many situations. Perhaps, they will wake up in the morning and hear us talking. Or, maybe, they will be away at camp and hear our voice on the phone. Perhaps, they are sick and in a clinic, and they hear our voice before we reach the clinic door. We want always to speak to our children in a manner that they associate our voice with love, guidance, and reassurance. Even when we must speak firmly to them, we want to do so in a way that they know it is because we love them. We want to spend enough time with them that they know our voice intimately, and we also know their voice -- their thoughts, impressions, hurts, and delights. We also want to point our children to Jesus' voice through the Scriptures so that they are prepared to hear His call.

Our voice in our children's lives is very profound, and we should be mindful of both the words we say and the way we say them. A study of what proverbs has to say about speech is always helpful to a wife and/or mother.

Isn't it beautiful that we can hear Jesus' voice through the Bible? Doesn't that make you want to read it, memorize it, and follow the instructions in it? If you ever doubt if you are important to God, remember that Jesus invites you by name to follow Him. He knows your name, and He knows the names of your children. Our part is to believe Him. Simple faith bids us to come when He calls and to follow where He leads. (John 10:26-27).

If we know Jesus' voice now, one day we will hear Him call our name, telling us to come home. As the song says, "Won't that be a day!"

Enjoy!
Elizabeth