Small Group Activity

Motherhood is challenging but worthwhile! Ask a local gym representative to come to lead a Mommy and Me workout. This does not need to be only for mothers and their children but could include any women with a niece or nephew, grandchild, or child in their care. The challenge will remind women that we can do hard things and that the work pays off! Moses’ mother, Jochebed’s choice, changed his life forever. It is proven that children take cues from their primary caregivers, so the choice to begin an exercise regimen, while perhaps not as tricky as Jochebed’s choice, can still impact your child’s life for the better for years to come.

Gym

Look into joining a local gym together.

Sedentary Group

Basket weaving can be fun for a group that isn’t active. Use this activity to remind the group that we are like baskets. We must weave ourselves together with our family, God, and corps family. Weaving correctly is not as easy as it may appear; incorrect weaving techniques make weak baskets. It is worth it to take your time and learn how to do it so that the basket can serve its purpose. Check Pinterest for basic instructions on weaving. The following is a site for a paper basket: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/482800022559691793/.

Bonsai Activity

Check to see if there is a gardener who specializes in Bonsai trees who would be willing to share with the group. If this isn’t possible, consider purchasing a beginning Bonsai tree kit, which is available on Amazon. There are many parallels to the Christian life in the art of bonsai. Share with the women your observations.

Community Service Idea

There are women in our communities who, like Jochebed, struggle to take care of their families. Single mothers have to hold down a job to pay rent, put food on the table and still spend quality time with their children. Very few of these women can find time to take care of themselves. Organize a time for the women to enjoy a night out while their children are cared for. At the end of the evening, send them home with groceries or a grocery store gift card.

Motherhood

If you want to find the picture-perfect mother who has figured out how to perfectly balance all the aspects of life, look no further than social media today. There you will see mothers with spotless living rooms, perfectly manicured nails, healthy dinners, and kids in ironed, matching clothing living what they call their “best lives!” While it may be pretty to view, this picture-perfect life is a myth. It doesn’t exist. Yet many of us beat ourselves up daily because we think we have fallen short of being a superwoman.

Motherhood is never an easy journey. During the pandemic, it became even more challenging with remote schooling compounding our already active role as mothers into one that has left many moms crying while locked in the bathroom, trying to figure out how to get it all done. Most moms want to ensure that they provide the ingredients necessary for their children to be rooted in love. It can take years to realize that God is the main ingredient for this; without Him, the roots will not hold.

I have found that the only thing I can do to remind myself to come back to reality is to look to the women of the Bible and see that even they were imperfect and could only try their best to be good examples to their children and families. While doing our best to help our children to survive during the recent global pandemic, we can look to moms who were doing their best to help their children.

One of the first Bible stories I remember hearing as a child was the story of Jochebed, Moses’ mother (Exodus 2:1–10). She understood the pressure to save her child. We don’t have to wonder how she felt when we read this story. We know she was willing to do anything possible to save her child. We know that in that situation, we would do the same. Because while the idea of a mom being Wonder Woman is a myth, a mom being a Mama Bear is not!

In Exodus 2: 3, we see that “when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River.” In typical “mom” fashion, Jochebed took what she had available to her and made it work. Sound familiar? Moms, we need to remember that what made her mission a success was that it was motivated by love. The world will tell you that a million things need to be your priority as a mom. I’m here to tell you that the most important thing is that you make sure your children are rooted in the love of God and confident in your love. That way, when you let go, just as Jochebed did when gently pushing the basket carrying her son into the water, your children will remain in the safe hand of God.

Many people don’t often recognize that while she made history with this bold decision, she and her husband were members of the priestly tribe of Levi. Her influence made ripples for generations, and it didn’t begin with that choice she made. It started when she was a child, being taught by her mother and father. The Levites were Jews who were exclusively responsible for the religious traditions of the Jewish people. That means Jochebed’s life was rooted in love through God, sacrifice, and honor.

While Jochebed was alive over a thousand years before Paul penned the book of 1 Corinthians, we can see how the love we read about in that letter was at the root of how she lived and led her family. Her life–saving decision to save Moses’ life in this way was reminiscent of what she learned as a child. First Corinthians 13:13 gives us insight into three aspects of motherhood and yet reminds us of “faith, hope and love … the greatest of these is love.” Remember that our stories do not begin when we have children. Some of the most impactful women in my life never had children of their own. We are who we are because God has created a plan for our lives, and we recognize it and do our best to follow it. Bold action and changed lives happened because of that. Make it your mission today to be rooted in love and pass that down to the children in your lives.