Just a Mom

I've always been fairly confident in the decision my husband and I made, before getting married, that I would stay at home while our kids were little and I would not work outside the home until our kids were in school.

Now that my kids are getting older and my social circle is expanding from my friends to parents of my kids' friends I am often finding myself the only mom in the room who doesn't earn a paycheck and admit that when the question is asked of me,  "What do you do?" I shyly admit, "I'm just a mom".  I see the looks and hear the unspoken words from these moms who have "real" jobs and my confidence in our decision gets shaken.

In addition to the new experiences of my expanded social circle, for several years I have looked around at what others my age have accomplished professionally and I can't help by wonder, "What have I done with my life?"  I have a degree in a field I'm no longer interested in entering.  I worked up until just before the arrival of my oldest, but I've just had "jobs" and I've never had a career.  I have come to the realization that I will probably never have a career, even when I do re-enter the work force and get a job outside of the home.

In short, I have started to see my role as "just a mom" as one that is less than my peers who work outside the home and are wonderful parents.

Last week an amazing godly woman was called home to be with Jesus and I spent time this week thinking about her legacy.  I don't know if she worked outside the home while her children were young.  I don't much of her story, but I have spent time with her at family gatherings for as long as I've known my husband.  I didn't know "GG" well, but I know some of her kids, her grandkids and her great-grandkids and I know the legacy she and her husband built has impacted countless thousands of lives for all eternity.

GG has one daughter who has been as a missionary overseas her entire adult life serving children who desperately need Jesus' love and compassion.  GG's daughter has been Jesus' hands, feet, arms, and so much else to these children for several decades and the lives she has touched have been changed for all eternity.  I honestly don't ever remember having met this daughter (maybe a brief introduction once), but I know her family and I've heard of her and her work for years.

GG has another daughter who I know primarily as my friends' mom. My friends' mom is the board of directors for a missions organization and is the missions director at her church.  My friends' mom has raised a son and daughter who love Jesus, who serve Him in their community and who are raising their kids in the Truth.  I count both of her children as friends.

One of GG's grandsons and his wife are close friends of ours.  My husband and GG's grandson grew up in the same church together and have a friendship that has lasted decades.  GG's grandson taught at a Christian school and was a youth pastor for many years before he and his family went on the mission field.  Now Stateside this man is a pastor leading his own congregation. 

GG's granddaughter is also a friend and she is raising her family in the same church she grew up in.   While not in vocational ministry GG's granddaughter is serving her Jesus and is a light in her community to those who know her. GG's granddaughter and her husband have two young kids who they are raising in God's Truth.

GG has 4 great-grandchildren ranging in age from 19-2 and I can only imagine the future God has in store for them.

This amazing legacy of faith that has spanned several generations, multiple continents and to countless thousands of lives is all because one couple loved Jesus and demonstrated that love to their children.

While this legacy can (and IS) left by families where both parents work, single parent families where working is the only way to put food on the table and everything in between, it has caused me to re-think how I view myself and my role as Mom.

No matter if I one day have a job that out earns my husband's or if I never earn a paycheck again, I look at GG's life and remember that parenthood has an eternal impact for generations to come.

I am not "just a mom" . . . I am a woman who is one half of a couple raising our kids for eternity and praying we leave a legacy of Christ followers that lasts for generations to come.