Committing My Motherhood

Motherhood is demanding, full of late nights, early mornings, unseen work, demands, sacrifice, and unmet expectations. We make a lot of decisions every day, and by the end of a day, I can feel exhausted and spent. 

Just to give you a glimpse into me - I can stew over whether to give Tylenol or Advil, meal plan for healthy eating, whether my children are watching too much tv, how many books have I read to the littlest ones, am I truly seeing the needs of each child, did anyone eat a green vegetable this week, why is laundry all over the house and will that create messy people, how much STEM activities is everyone getting, why do my children fuss at each other and will they even like each other as adults, do I really have to do art with children because glitter and playdoh make me anxious - all before 8 in the morning. And those are all the light, mild thoughts that dance inside my head. 

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! ~Psalm 37:5-7

I am clinging to a truth, a promise, from God’s word this morning from Psalm 37:5. “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act.”

 At first glance when I study this passage, it seems very clear ~ almost like a formula ~ If I commit my way, all I do, motherhood, marriage, work, ministry, If I choose to do all these things for Him and trust Him, then He will act. Because I want Him, I really long for Him to do His work, to make new ways, to change hearts, to mend hurts, heal wounds, I long for Him to act. What a promise! What potential! 

Yet that formula depends on me.

And the Gospel does not. 

So what does Commit actually mean, what is He saying? How do I commit, what do I commit, is there a way I can fail to commit? (anyone else think like me?) The word in Hebrew means “to roll,” and the imagery is of rolling rocks off or over onto another surface. This is NOT a command of action, the imperative to do more, be more, attain more.

 This is His invitation of grace, a display of His Gospel. God invites you and me to roll off the rocks of performance and worries, the heavy stones of disappointments and pain, the boulders of fears, and the rubble of all the tasks.

When I bow before His throne, the slope of my back shifts what I cling to, the pull of His grace and His mercy patiently begins to loosen all I hold, and I learn to let go. 

 So I will commit, but I will not add to a to do list. I will surrender it all into His nail scarred hands and roll it all onto His back. 

God invites you and me to commit all of our motherhood to Him. Roll all of it ~ allow it all to tumble out of our hands, off of our backs ~ commit it all to Him. It’s not a calling to work, it’s a calling to surrender. And an invitation to rest as we learn to trust. 

Jesus offers the same invitation in Matthew 11:28-30 when He says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” 

“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will act.” (Psalm 37:5) 

Let’s stand on the truth that we don’t have to hold it all together, do things perfectly, or be assured a result. When we understand the invitation to come, the price paid for our sin that we may have a relationship through Jesus Christ as His daughter, we can roll it all over to Him. 

Let them roll, child. Trust Me, I will act. 

For my burden is light.