Hello everyone. Both of my children are away at church camp this
week so it has been pretty quiet around our house. While my husband
and I miss them, we are also enjoying listening to the quiet. I
hope you are having a great summer or winter depending on where
you live. Welcome to all the new CWM subscribers. There are lots
of ways to be involved. If you want to read past articles or interviews
you can find them at: http://www.kimberlychastain.com/newsletters/archives.htm.
Feel free to email me with questions or suggestions at Kimberly@kimberlychastain.com.
Interview
Today Jill was gracious to share with us her words of wisdom. Jill
lives in the United States and is a married 30 year old CWM with
a son age 4 and a daughter who is 9 months old. Jill is a Business
Development Manager at a Ford Dealership.
Jill shares the following joys in being a CWM: I spent much of
my first years in motherhood feeling guilty, not that I was a working
mom, but that I didn’t desire to be a stay-at-home mom even
if I had the opportunity. Eventually I was able to realize that
just as God doesn’t equip all the members of his Body with
the same gifts, he doesn’t equip all moms alike. He equipped
me with gifts that I am able to utilize in different areas. My joy
comes in using these gifts the Spirit has given me in my family,
my church, and my work.
Jill struggles with balancing the managing of the day-to-day operations
of the household. I am blessed that my husband shares in much of
this, but still I find many days I come up short.
Jill’s favorite Bible Verse: I’ve found that I have
favorite verses at different stages of my life. Right now my favorite
is Acts 20:24: “But I do not account my life of any value
nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the
ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the
gospel of the grace of God.”
What is God teaching you right now, Jill? In the moms’ class
that I lead at my church, we have been going through 1 Corinthians
13. The very last lesson on “love never fails” really
spoke to me. In looking up the original definition for “fails,”
one definition could read, “Love never ceases to be effective.”
I’ve seen that at work in the smallest details in my interactions
with Drew. If I discipline him out of pure love, the agape love
that only comes from God, I see fruit immediately and I’m
sure I will continue to see it as he grows. In contrast, if I find
myself disciplining or reacting out of anger or frustration –
or anything other than love – the effect is the opposite.
So no matter what I do, whether in the words I say, how I discipline,
how I spend the time I have with him – any number of things
– my goal has been to act out of love.
Jill offers these words of encouragement for other Christian Working
Moms:
Don’t forget that God placed your child(ren) in your family.
They are uniquely suited for you. As long as we are following God,
it doesn’t matter if we’re working moms, stay-at-home
moms, or a blend of the two. In my case, I am blessed that my husband
works hours that allows him to be home with the kids some days.
My mom keeps them other days, and they go to a Mother’s Day
Out program as well. I believe God created my children to thrive
in this situation because of all the experiences they get and the
relationships they build with those who care for them. In the same
way, for the stay-at-home moms’ children, those children are
designed to thrive in the mother’s primary care. As long as
we are following where God is leading our individual families, and
as long as we are being faithful to raise our children to love and
follow Christ, we are fulfilling our purpose in their lives.
Anything else you would like to share: In the day-to-day busyness
of life, it’s easy to lose sight of our ultimate goal as believers
is bringing glory to God and to further his kingdom. And our children
are our first ministry. We need to be faithful to raise them in
a local body of believers, but we can’t stop there. They have
to see us living our faith day in and day out. What that means to
me many times is having to look Drew in the eye and say, “I’m
sorry. Will you forgive me?” We can’t be perfect, and
we’ll lead a very frustrated life if we expect that out of
ourselves. But what we can do is model the love of Christ to our
children and model grace both by asking for their forgiveness when
we fall short and by extending that same grace to them, all the
while pointing them to their heavenly Father.
Thanks Jill for the reminder that children often watch our Christian
walk much more than they listen to our words. Our walk needs to
be consistent with our talk.
Final Thoughts
What one way this week can you show your children the love of God
rather than saying it? Surprise your children with God’s overwhelming
love for all of us.
Till next time,
Kimberly M. Chastain
Kimberly M. Chastain, MS, LMFT is the Christian Working
Mom Coach and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She is the
author of The Voices of Christian Working Moms, 2 ebooks and an
online Bible study. To find out how to receive coaching tips by
email daily, go to http://www.kimberlychastain.com/cwmtips.htm.
To find out more about her books go to www.christianworkingmom.com.
For a free, initial coaching session send an email to free@kimberlychastain.com.
