This year 2020 has been one for the books! I hear people saying things like, “This is a crazy world we live in with this pandemic!” or “If we think violence and politics are bad today, just wait until our kids are grown!” I can easily see where people would feel like this…just turn on the TV or the computer and it’s everywhere! Sickness and death. People divided over skin color. Choosing the lesser of two evils in our nation’s leaders. Christian parenting can start to seem impossible if you let the weight of the worlds’ problems and sins overcome you in a given day. But remember, even as darkness grows, one light can penetrate a whole lot of darkness—and as mothers, we are called to raise our kids to be those lights and be the brightest they can be. Beyond the big issues of the world, if you feel discouraged today or frustrated within your own home: with kids home doing virtual learning, with difficult toddler or with a baby that is not sleeping…take heart that there may be trouble in the world and tiredness in the home home, but you have a great PURPOSE and that is to be a light brightener. Take a look at these scriptures:

Matthew 5:15-16 says, “People don’t light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lamp stand, and it GIVES LIGHT TO EVERYONE IN THE HOUSE.  In the same way let your light shine in front of people. Then they will see the good that you do and praise your Father in heaven.”

Psalm 78:4 & 6 says, “We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about His power and His mighty wonders…so the next generation might know them — even the children not yet born — and they in turn will teach their own children.”

So momma, when you lay your head down at night questioning your purpose or wondering if anything of great worth got completed today…remember, our greatest calling every day is to tell our children about the love of Jesus. Let’s face it, if we are honest, changing diapers and feeling like a carpooling service or a full-time home teacher, is not the most glamorous life. At the end of most days, I feel like there wasn’t enough time to get everything done to accomplish all I wanted to as a mom, a wife, a co-worker and a friend. We must remember each day the phrase “as you go” modeled from Deut.11:19, “Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Make it your goal to bring Jesus into each day “as you go” with your kids: walking, talking, riding, playing….Tell them of His love and His great truths, that the enemy is trying so hard to corrupt on this earth. The Lord has called you to be the mother to the children He gave to you, and He will fully equip you to raise them to love and serve Him and make a difference in this world. If that is not BIG LIGHT BRIGHTENING PURPOSE, then I don’t know what is!?

So be encouraged today! God knows right where you are. He is still in control of this world and will defeat the enemy and the darkness that seems so prominent in this moment of time. He will be with you every step of the way, and like Philippians 4:4-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” So, HE hears us and is still on the throne ready to replace your worry with HIS peace, your questions with HIS wisdom and your inadequacies with HIS purpose for you to raise godly children to be a light that will make a difference in this world!