Happy Mother’s Day!

From what I’ve observed in my last 18 years of being a dad, I’ve noticed that being a mother is no easy task. 

Something always amazes me about our children.  Our kids were born just about as close to one another as they can be.  They were raised together going through all of the same seasons of life together from learning how to crawl, walk, talk, potty-train, elementary, high school, and now moving into adulthood.  They had the same parents, family, neighbors.  They went to the same school, rode the same bus, had many of the same teachers.

However, they still are as different from each other as they could possibly be!  In fact, Becky has twin brothers and even sharing the same womb at the same time, they’re just as different from one another.

For this reason alone, I can understand why there is no guidebook for parenting and especially mothering.  There is no singular method of parenting that anyone could write and follow that would be the perfect fit for every child.

It might be a bit surprising, but I would say that even the Bible, itself, offers up only principles and general guidelines to help parents raise up their children in the way that they should go.  When it comes to the specifics, well, we’re in desperate need of assistance from the very One who knitted them together in your womb.  We need the Holy Spirit!

Although motherhood has an incredible number of challenges and obstacles, I felt that the Holy Spirit wanted to offer up some assistance this morning on one particular area that seems to trip up women the most when it comes to mothering their children.  Their own thoughts.

I’ve watched my wife walk through many ups and downs while mothering our children.  However, there is a giant obstacle that seems to trip up so many mothers out there.  This obstacle is a voice within that slips out of mother’s mouths every now and then.  In their greatest moments of weaknesses, you may hear laments like:

I’m a failure.

I’m not good enough.

I’m never going to get this right.

I’ve screwed these kids up.

I’ve failed them.

Everything that I do just falls apart.

I’m not a good mom.

Why, just why?

And perhaps one of the rawest is a simple tearful cry of:

I can’t.

These types of lies come from a voice within that always seems to sneak in when moms are at their weakest. 

There are so many things that I can help out with as a father, but that voice within is one that I’ve never seemed to be able to help with in any way.  When I speak the truth from my perspective about how incredible I truly think the mother of my children is, that lying voice convinces her that it speaks truth and I’m just trying to be nice.

Jesus’ disciples were struggling with their own grief and overwhelming emotions and trying to understand what was going on and to understand what Jesus was saying and in the middle of that mess, Jesus told them this.

John 15:26 (AMP)

when the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of Truth who comes from the Father, He will testify and bear witness about Me.

Moms, when you are at your weakest and lowest, you are not alone!  God has sent you an advocate, a helper, a comforter, a counselor, a strengthener, a standby, a friend.  God is with you through His Holy Spirit.  The Spirit of Truth whose voice can slaughter, deconstruct, demolish, destroy all of those lies that you are feeling about yourself. 

The Holy Spirit that testifies about Jesus and who you truly are in Him.  The Holy Spirit who helps you to understand and become who you already are in Him.

Jesus then goes and explains that His disciples were going to face some pretty hard times.  Jesus didn’t sugar-coat it and said that there will even be those who kill them and think they were doing God a service.  That’s when He explained the purpose for why He was sending the Holy Spir