The dishes can wait

Idolatry is putting something or someone, usually a gift from God, in a place of value that detracts from the fist place owed to God alone.  It is valuing something in a way that hinders the love and trust we owe to God.

So my question is this: can motherhood be idolatry?  Our children become the center of our world from the moment they are born.  Our lives revolve around their wants, needs, schedules, and well-beings.  We love them madly.  It is so easy for our little ones to become more important to us than God.  Our lives are so busy and hectic that it becomes almost laughable that we would be able to find quiet time to sit and be alone with God. 

Sunday morning He hit me with the revelation that as good and right and beautiful as my love for my daughter is, I have unknowingly and accidentally allowed motherhood to become a form of idolatry.   She has become more important to me than my Creator, her creator.  As mothers, I believe that the Holy Spirit guides us.  Some call it mother’s intuition.  I call it divine wisdom.  I believe that as we begin to place Christ as the center of our lives, He will grant us the wisdom of what is best for our children.  As we learn to accept His love for us, we will love our children more deeply and we will have more patience, grace, and mercy than we ever thought possible.  Just as God grants us the wisdom to understand what is best for our children, He also grants us the wisdom to understand that we can’t do this by our own strength. 

What is the solution?  How do we find time to spend time with God?  I think that will look different for everyone.  Maybe it means getting up a few minutes early or going to bed a few minutes late.  It could mean praying while you do the dishes, or just praying instead of doing the dishes. (they’ll still be there) Motherhood teaches us to find creative ways of getting things done.  So think, pray, and get creative.

Sarah