Christian Devotionals for Mothers

Bible Readings and Reflections for Mothers

By Kristin Armstrong

Becoming a mother was one of those precise moments in life that leave us permanently altered, our hearts and fates sealed. My children have often been the catalyst for my own spiritual and personal growth. I have discovered more about myself and my God in the pursuit of discovering my children. There are moments when I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that God has used me to help hone my children's characters, and there are moments of even greater clarity when I know that God is using them to hone mine. Here are ten Scripture verses and reflections on the grace-filled adventure of motherhood.

Kristin Armstrong is the author of four other books including Work in Progress: An Unfinished Woman's Guide to Grace,Happily Ever After: Walking with Peace and Courage Through a Year of Divorce, Strength for the Climb, and a children's book called Lance Armstrong: The Race of His Life. A runner who has completed six marathons, she's a contributing editor for Runner's World magazine, where she also writes a blog called Mile Markers. She and her three children live in Austin, Texas, and Santa Barbara, California.

Love One Another

Dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another.
-2 John 3

Want to know something that breaks my heart? It's the jealousy, competition and pettiness that separate women when we so badly need one another. We were not meant to do this mothering gig on our own, people. We need the good company of women to keep our sanity, perspective and sense of humor. The only way to counteract this pervasive undercurrent between women is to actively take a stand against it. Have a zero tolerance policy for mean-girl behavior. This is a gift to yourself, a great stride forward for all womankind, and a priceless lesson to live out in front of your children.

No Discipline Seems Pleasant

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
-Hebrews 12:11

It pains me to discipline my children. I ache for them and wish that I didn't have to follow through. But I have to do it, in a way that they understand that it was their choice or their behavior that led to this result. I can begin to understand how God feels as He invokes my punishment: He doesn't like it, either. It must hurt His heart to rebuke me and make me suffer my consequences, but He does it out of love so that I will learn and grow. In the same way, I want righteousness and peace for my children.

God Will Not Leave US

I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned: but time and chance happen to them all. Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come.
-Ecclesiastes 9:11-12

It doesn't matter how much we pray or how well we try to live, at some point our hour will come and we will be tested. It is also certain that during our testing, God will not leave us or forsake us. As for everything else, well, some of it depends on the test and some of it depends on us. Do we wail and curse God at the unfairness of it all? Do we attempt to avoid or outrun it? or do we simply turn to face it, and get down to the humble, hard work of dealing with it?

Let the Little Children Come

Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.
-Luke 18:16-17

My children have taught me about unconditional love, devotion and gratitude. They have reminded me how to live fully present. They have rekindled my sense of joy. We can learn a lot from watching our children's faith and asking them questions about what and how they believe. God often speaks to me directly through my children: clearly they don't filter or tune Him out the way my accumulated years manage to create spiritual clogs. Little people have big impact, especially where God is concerned. Pay attention.

Keep Building

The peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.
-Ezra 4:4

Trying to build anything of consequence always seem to provoke a spirit of fear, doubt or intimidation in some people. The same thing happens to us today as happened to the Israelites when they began to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. If we truly have a heart for God, we are trying to build our families in a different way from the rest of the world. It will look different, and people are going to gawk and wonder. Where is the construction zone in your life right now? Your heart? Your faith? Your family? Your dreams? Are there people that are trying to make you afraid? Don't listen to them. The temple of the Lord is in all those things. Build Him something magnificent.

God Makes You Sparkle

When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.
-Ephesians 4:8

We know we are "in the zone" or using our God-given gifts when doing those particular things causes us to transcend. I don't mean levitate; I mean lose ourselves. When we give of these talents, we are never depleted or irritable, never feel shy or inadequate; sharing them brings us joy. This is our way of sharing the love of God with others, when we do the things He created us to do. It isn't the thing so much as it is the tough of God on you when you do it. The touch of God makes you sparkle, and people get curious about where all that light is coming from so they take a closer look.