Today at Dollar tree I filled my cart with all things Valentines. Napkins, table covers, stuffed animals, candy, and trinkets galore. On the conveyer belt was an array of pink, purple and red – all things “love” to prepare for next week’s holiday. The plan is to have our dining room decked out for when my girls awake, hoping they’ll see that effort of celebration of not just the holiday, but of our love for them.
In all that effort, in all the celebrating that we’ll do on that special day, I understand good and well that the day will pass and while they will have had fun and while they will have heard from us how special they are – that is not the realest form of love I want to give them.
When I wrote my vows to my husband, I thought first of the type of wife I wanted to be, and my vows became an explanation and promise of those goals – real life promises and real-life processes to become the kind of wife my heart intended. I’ve approached parenthood in the same manner. What kind of mom do I want to be? My greatest and most repetitive answer is that I want to be a protective mom, a safe mom. Unlike the helicopter mom that hovers about their kids, I want my heart to be a safe place for them, and I want our parenting style to be one that not just protects their present state of life, but also protects their purpose.
Just a few weeks ago, while rocking our youngest girl to sleep, a thought from the enemy came into my mind. It was a destructive thought about that little girls’ life who I was rocking. Immediately, I began to pray in the spirit and take my thoughts captive. Over the next few days, there were many similar attacks – thoughts and proof that the enemy is already vying for the heart of my babies.
Sometimes in our dreams for our children, and in our belief of God’s greatness in them, we forget that the enemy also has a plan. While it is powerless against the power of our great God, He still makes effort, He still schemes and He still seeks out their hearts, their minds and their souls. When I say that I want to be a mom that protects – that is what I mean. I want to be a mom that, much like wonder woman, stands over their hearts, wielding her sword and fighting off the efforts of the enemy coming to infiltrate holy ground and holy hearts. I want to be a mom whose prayers ward off temptations and whose love has proven to be unconditional when temptation has won.
Moms, I encourage you, I implore you – be a protector, be a safe place, wield your sword with a vengeance against a very real, still powerful enemy. When your children’s choices prove to be less than the standard of holiness you’ve taught – remember, grace covers a multitude of sin, and your response of love is proof of the God you’ve been hoping they’d see for themselves. While our automatic response as a mother is to love, let us also realize that love protects and let us do that with wild abandon.
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