Unlimited Motherhood: Overcome 12 Limits That Overwhelm and Conflict Our HeartsSample

Title: Walking in Our Identity

Most Christian moms I know don’t have a faith problem, but an identity problem. They believe Jesus for the impossible and pray relentlessly for him to move. But if you were to ask that same mom if she believed God could use her to do the impossible, she would shake her head in disbelief.

Do you realize that before time began, God was dreaming about your life? He knew how tall you would be, how you’d have your grandma’s eyes, and he even created that weird birthmark you hate. God doesn’t just know what you will look like, he also knows in advance the works he has created for you to do. It seems like God believes in us a lot. So why don’t we believe in ourselves?

I worked at Dairy Queen for seven years. It wasn’t the most glorious job, but it helped me pay my way through college. The person to the right and left of me were my coworkers. I didn’t boss them around or exalt myself above them. We worked together as a team. We all dealt with the same disgruntled customers, and we all went home each night smelling like greasy fries with dried soft-serve ice cream plastered across our shirts.

When Jesus described his relationship with us, he didn’t use the word servants, but friends. He doesn’t want robots that obey; he wants people to relate to. And when he sets out to get work done on the earth, he isn’t looking for subordinates but for coworkers. He invites us to get our hands dirty and work shoulder-to-shoulder with the God of the universe. What a privilege! But if we don’t believe we are qualified to work with God, we will disqualify ourselves. The truth is, none of us are qualified. Jesus doesn’t need us, but he desperately wants us. We desperately need Jesus, but oftentimes we don’t want him.

As moms we struggle with guilt that we aren’t praying enough, reading our Bibles enough, serving our churches enough. But we must realize that Jesus does not look at us as servants, but as friends, and in this busy season of motherhood it’s less about what we do for him. Jesus just wants to be with us.