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Discerning Your Season-Becoming Like Christ

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By Katie Davenport

It is three in the morning. The baby cries again. I sigh as I heave my pregnant body out of bed to go tend to the teething one year old in the crib. For the fifth time that night. Exhausted and spent, I cry to God. I tell Him how tired I am, how I long for some sleep, how I don’t even have the chance to feel refreshed by His word because my energy and attention is constantly being drained by little ones.

Inside the womb and out. Day and night. In the middle of my bemoaning, God interrupts me. He speaks quietly, but clearly to my tattered heart: “It is okay if this is not a season of having orderly devotion time with Me every morning. For you are in a season of becoming like Me as you learn to show love, grace, and patience to your children.”

This season of motherhood and childbearing is intense. God has revealed things to me in ways I have never experienced. Namely, His heart and in comparison, my own. Through the innocent dependency of my babies, God gives me a glimpse into His perfect love for humanity. Motherhood, then, becomes a juxtaposition of seeing God’s heart in me as I love my children, and simultaneously seeing the childishness in myself as I depend upon God.

God is using motherhood to refine me into a woman who reflects His face. As I make sacrifices for my children, as I give up bodily comforts, as I allow for interrupted sleep, and as I place their needs before my own, selfishness has no place.

God shows me abundant love, patience, grace, and mercy. His disciplines, corrects, and forgives. He never sleeps (Ps. 101:4), He is always there when I call to Him (Ps. 145:18), He is near the broken-hearted (Ps. 34:18), He knows my frame and remembers that I am dust (Ps.103:14). If God has shown me such grace, how can I not show that same grace to my children? And if I love my children this much, how can I even fathom the depth of God’s love for me?

Is this season still hard? By all means. Things that matter in life are seldom easy, and as with any growth, there is always death to self. I have had to struggle with not having the time to pursue my writing, not having the mental focus to indulge in deep biblical studies, and simply with the general sacrifice of my time. But it is in the struggle that the Lord has found me and brought me to this place of discerning my season. In my wrestling, He has blessed me. In my weakness, His strength has been made perfect. In my submission, He has molded me into His likeness.

Dear weary mother, take heart, for you are not alone. And your time is not wasted. Your sacrifice is not in vain. Becoming more like Christ is the highest calling to which you have been called. And reflecting Christ to your children is a legacy that will last for generations.

Author bio: Katie grew up as a pastor’s kid, so she naturally developed a love for spiritual study, biblical truth, and writing. Katie is a stay-at-home mama of a growing family, currently living in Texas. She is a devoted follower of Jesus and is passionate about family, truth, the church, worship, and impacting the culture around her. And she holds a special place in her heart for all things books, coffee, and writing! Instagram: @thepastorskid_412

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