The mission of motherhood describes the work that God has called all mothers to do. As mothers, women play a vital role in nurturing their children to follow the Lord. God calls moms to pray continuously for their children and model a life of obedience to Christ, work that is critical in advancing God’s kingdom.
Motherhood for many women involves raising biological children. Often, God expands the ministry of women with biological children to include foster and adoption care. Yet for women who desire to be mothers but are single or facing infertility, mothering might look different.
How do women live out the mission of motherhood if life circumstances don’t allow them to become biological mothers? God has given women a variety of ways to embrace motherhood, and He also uses adoption, foster care, and mentorship opportunities to allow women to fulfill their desire to be moms. Read the stories of two mothers whose experiences ranged from infertility, having biological children, fostering, and adopting the children they now call their own.
Adoption and Foster Care as Part of the Mission
“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’” —Romans 8:15
God’s heart for adoption is clear in the gospel. He has always desired for us to be part of His family, but sin separated us. God graciously sent Jesus to die for our sins so all who turn to Him can be adopted into His family.
Adoption and foster care are practical ways for women to live out the gospel and the mission of motherhood. God affirms His heart for such ministry in James 1:27 by saying, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” Adopting children into your family is a tangible representation of how God views us as His children.
Robyn: Loving Children as Christ Loves Us
There is no lack of resources for moms-to-be. In a world where vast amounts of information are at our fingertips, we can find answers to just about any parenting question: How do I get my baby to sleep through the night? When do I introduce solid foods? What about potty training? Is it okay to co-sleep? Should I send my child to public school or private school, or should I homeschool my child? The questions are numerous and intimidating, and the answers “experts” offer are varied and confusing. There are often extra layers of unknowns that come with being a mom through foster care or adoption.
Whether a child is yours biologically or joins your family through foster care or adoption, all children have two things in common:
- Children need to know they are safe and loved.
- Children are sinners in need of a Savior.
As moms, we have the joy and responsibility to love our children as Christ loves us. We get to lovingly point them to the Savior and help them understand their need for Him.
The mission of motherhood is the same regardless of how our children enter our families. Our children aren’t really “ours” after all. They belong to our gracious Heavenly Father, who has entrusted them to us for a time. It is our great joy to point them to Him. What an amazing privilege we have as moms to be the hands and feet of Jesus in a child’s life.
-Robyn Lawatsch
Allison: Infertility and the Mission of Motherhood
As someone who always wanted to be a mother, dealing with the reality of infertility was tough and disheartening. Yet God showed me that infertility was not designed to prevent me from becoming a mother, but instead it was an opportunity for God to work in a special way. My husband and I felt God leading us to adoption, and we were amazed by the way He brought our son into our family.
When I think of my infertility journey and what God taught me through the experience, I think of the passage in 2 Corinthians 12:9 where Paul explains that he asked God to remove a challenge from his life. Describing the situation, Paul says God told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” That also summarizes my experience because I got to see God’s power to remove obstacles and provide in amazing ways when I felt powerless.
I clearly saw just how well God knew our son before he was even born, and I understood how God was lovingly working out the details of his life before he entered the world. I am humbled and inspired God called me to partner with Him fulfill the mission of motherhood.
Through it all, God taught me several valuable lessons about being a mom:
- The mission of motherhood is about something much bigger than me and my circumstances.
No matter how one becomes a mom, motherhood is about building God’s kingdom. God has called us to love our children unconditionally and show them how to love and serve Him. The impact this can have on a child can flow down to future generations.
- God places a unique calling on all our lives, and that calling is often to do things we think are beyond our abilities. As a result, we learn to rely on Him as He does the impossible.
I didn’t know much about adoption before we started looking into the process, and I didn’t have any special insight or ability in parenting children through adoption. Even so, God has graciously decided to use me, and I must trust Him daily on the journey.
- Prayer is a key part of the mission of motherhood.
We are to always be in prayer for our children, anticipating their needs and bringing those needs before God. A mom’s prayers have the power to change the lives of her children.
-Allison Gibeson
Expanding the View of Motherhood
There are all kinds of opportunities to invest in the lives of children and encourage their spiritual growth. Just because a child might not be in your earthly family doesn’t mean the child can’t become part of your spiritual family.
Opportunities to advance the mission of motherhood in other ways include:
- Teaching the next generation at church.
Volunteers are essential in ministry to children and students, and there is an opportunity for women to make a difference in the lives of young people at church. Many lives are touched each week as children and students attend church, and adults frequently look back and remember the lessons they learned from mentors who invested in them when they were growing up.
- Providing wisdom to neighborhood children.
There are children everywhere in the communities where you live who need to hear the gospel. As you get to know these children, opportunities for spiritual conversations might arise. Many mentorship programs can also help facilitate such relationships.
- Offering to babysit or provide respite care.
While not everyone is called to foster care or adoption, everyone can bless these children in some way. That includes providing respite care for foster and adoptive families. The positive impact one can have on these children can change the trajectory of their lives and their eternal destination.
- Being an involved aunt.
Loving the children of one’s siblings is a fun and rewarding experience, and it can also open the door for spiritual conversations and mentorship. The work of an aunt often expands beyond one’s biological nieces and nephews to include the children of friends as well. As an “aunt,” you can equip the women in your life to fulfill the mission of motherhood by meeting their needs, supporting them, and caring for their children.
Takeaway
There are all kinds of ways women can fulfill the mission of motherhood and the calling God has placed on their lives, and their ministry isn’t always just to biological children. The mission of foster and adoptive moms is essential kingdom work, and so is the work of women who mentor other children in their lives. No matter how a woman becomes a mother, her prayer is always that the children she loves will become devoted followers of Christ. This prayer is summarized by the reflection of the Apostle John in 3 John 1:4: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
However a woman chooses to embrace mothering, her ministry is of the highest eternal value. Learn more about our foster and adoption ministries at Abundant Life and how you can support the families through respite care here!