Realize the important times in your child’s life where more focus and attention are needed. The more you focus, the more thorough a job you will be able to do.

Nehemiah 4:19

The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. 

There are seasons in a mother’s life when she must push the distractions of the world aside and truly focus on her job as a mom. The world is constantly pushing us to cram more and more in our calendar— this is a fact of life that we cannot hide from. But, there are certain times in a child’s life that demand and deserve more focused attention from moms. Some of these seasons include potty training your child, teaching your child discipline in the early years, and being “present” for your children in the teenage years- putting your wants and needs aside and focusing on the teenager in your home, showing them you are available. These times of focus are not necessarily fun in a mom’s world, but very important. The more you focus, the more thorough a job you will be able to do. Staying home with a toddler to teach them potty training is never fun, but once you make time and give up that week of your life, your sacrifice will be worth it in the long run. The same is true in the teenage years. As a parent of a teenager, you will need to be more available to your teen, if in no other area than physically. Leaving a group of teens at your home with no adult supervision is never a good idea. But, supervised teens can be a delight. This sacrifice will take longer than a week, as in potty training.  Actually, it can take up to four years, but it is worth it in the end.

Realize the important times in your child’s life where more focus and attention are needed. Don’t become bitter about it— it is part of your job as a mom. The work of a mom is extensive and takes 18 years to accomplish—there are no short cuts.  However, the harvest is great in the end. 

Prayer

Father, Thank You for giving me this important job as a mom: to nurture, love, guide and direct my children.  Father, I pray that You will give me wisdom concerning parenting and show me the times in my child’s life when I need to give more focused time and attention.  I pray that I will not fight against the hard work, but I will realize the importance of my role.  There is much work to be done in parenting a child- give me grace, love and endurance as I embrace this huge role.