"An
Investor In Futures"
by Lucinda Secrest McDowell
Someone once told me,
"Our children are the gift we give to a world we will never see."
Just yesterday I read a greeting card that said,
"We should all
plant a few trees we will never sit
under."
Quite a mandate for motherhood!
So if I describe my occupation as "Investor in Futures"
I don't mean the stock market! I can't help but wonder how many
young women today would say they want to be mothers when
they grow up. It seems motherhood has gotten a pretty bad rap
lately, and I'm not sure why. Mothers have the ability to set the
whole tone of the home, and therefore, the future. And frankly,
it's the hardest professional job I've ever had.
When Mother Teresa won the Nobel Peace Prize,
someone asked her, "What can we do to promote
world peace?" Her response?
"Go home and love your family."
By
the time I finally became a mother,
in my thirties, I was READY(or so I thought). I adopted
three children and later gave birth to one more!!!
I loved them to pieces. I also made a lot of mistakes. But my God
is a God of grace and my children have proven amazingly resilient.
I am an
investor in futures.
When I take the time to read stories, pray with my children before
school, cheer at tennis matches, wash clothes, send care packages to
college, help with scouts, sew on badges, mend a doll's broken arm,
fill out financial aid applications, go to endless special education
forums and drive all over town I am saying to them
"You are important to me and I will go the extra
mile to help you feel secure, worthy and loved."
When we mamas look to our husbands, our kids, our things,
our titles, our jobs, or anything for our source of happiness,
we will come away frustrated, bitter and disillusioned. God alone,
through the power of the Holy Spirit, is the One who gives us
strength, wisdom, humor, fortitude, and yes, even happiness, to
plant our little
acorns and nurture them into mighty trees. 
We don't need to worry about the future -- that's not our job.
Our job is to invest in the short time we have with
our children now, and leave the rest to God. ..
copyright Lucinda Secrest McDowell
excerpted from Women's
Spiritual Passages
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