God Loveth a Cheerful Mother

During my quiet time, I came across this portion of scripture. I don't know what it was about today, but for some reason this spoke to me in a different way than it has in the past.

But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: - 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

Don't you love it when that happens? When you're reading the Bible and the Spirit moves you stop and consider it deeply? It's incredible.

My dad used to refer to it as scripture jumping off the page. I also think of it as the Word spilling off the page and sinking into my heart.

I realize that Paul is referring to the way that we give here. But today I considered applying it to the way that I live. In particular, the way that I love my husband and parent my children.

It's telling me this: the time and the effort that I put into parenting will come back to me as a reward. When I give of myself generously I receive generously.

And secondly, dishes are dull, laundry is never ending, and scrubbing toilets isn't all that much fun. But here's the thing--God loves a cheerful giver. He wants us to experience joy in the journey. He wants us to live and to give from the heart not from the hands.

So how do we do that? How can we experience joy in the midst of the mundane?

Gratitude. It's the antidote for sour grapes. When we're truly grateful for the people, the home, and yes--even the laundry that we have, our attitude takes on the form of gratitude.

Discipline isn't fun. Nor is training. I remember back to the days when I was potty training my children--it consumed all of my time. I would literally sit beside them and read them a pile of books until a tinkle came out, which in some cases seemed  to take all afternoon.

Shopping with four kids was a three ring circus and I was the clown. One time Nathaniel decided to duck into the men's change room until the staff came looking for him. He was careful not to make a single peep while I was calling out his name at the top of my lungs. But shopping had to be done.

Discipline is tough. It takes time and it takes patience to do it right. But in the same way that self discipline brings fruit of righteousness to those who are exercised by it, it develops fruit in the vineyard of a growing family.

And if you're not joyful? If you've have a bad day and you've missed out on the joy--what then? Remember that God's grace is upon you. Yes, He loveth a cheerful giver, but He also loves you during those times when you're down on yourself for doing everything wrong.

You are loved by an almighty God,



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