The Marked Life Blog

This woman has been a profound voice of encouragement and truth for me, and has always believed in me and spoken powerfully into my life. I have gleaned much from her example about love, parenting, marriage, and faith, and I have witnessed her impact on numerous families and children. Today, Alice talks about life changes in motherhood, praying for her children, and showing them love. Alice, thank you for allowing us a glimpse into your life in words.

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How many children do you have? I have been married for 29 years. I am the mother of three children.

How old are your children? Their ages are 30, 22, and 19.

Are you a mom of girls, boys, or both? One boy and two girls.

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What are the most significant ways your life has changed since becoming a Mom?

The most significant way my life has changed since becoming a mom is responsibility. My responsibilities changed.

I was not only responsible for things but now I am responsible for a life. This was a huge responsibility and scary. It was scary because I did not want to fail as a mom. God had blessed me with this little life and he was holding me responsible for the teaching and training.

The good news about all of this is I had help. I am not talking about the natural help I would receive from my husband, family, and friends. I am speaking of spiritual help which was very essential to the growth of my child(ren).

I learned how to depend on the guidance and instruction of God which led to a healthy and mature growth for my children.

How do you show love to your children?

I show love to my children through my actions and not words only.

Love is an action word. The Bible says “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.” The key word here is gave. God demonstrated his love by giving.

I demonstrated my love to my children by cooking them daily meals. I have been doing this since they were very little. It was important to me that they had a hot meal everyday when they came home from school. They still expect home cooked meals today. I also helped with homework, played family games, provided for their needs, etc.

The most important action of love was that I was present in their lives. They could depend on me being there. When children are very young, stability is the best love you can give.

How much time do you spend praying for your children? 

Someone asked me how often do I pray for my children. My answer was “always.”  Never cease praying for your children. 

I need it as much as they do.  I need God’s direction for my children. He told me to train up a child in the way he should go and he will not depart from it. The key words here are the way he or she should go. So that tells me that there is a way my children should go.

Our children have God given gifts within them; so we must seek God to know what they are, so that we can train and develop them. It is evident God isn’t speaking of salvation in this text.  Many of us can testify that we taught our children about God and many still strayed from him when they became older.  God is saying if we seek him for the way our children should go and train them then they won’t stray from it.

You may see that your child enjoys singing and has a beautiful singing voice, so we as parents should nurture and develop that gift because you see that singing is the way your child should go. 

So prayer is vital for our children present and future.

I am all the more grateful for the women (like Alice) who have chosen to join me on this journey of transparency and support – ESPECIALLY in addition to the life adjustments and loads we are all experiencing in the midst of COVID-19! I can’t thank you enough.

Connection and support are vital to our growth and survival as humans and as Women. I have met many Mothers (myself included at one point) who are going through the trenches and carrying loads solo. This has often led to depression, loneliness, isolation, and such guilt and shame in “not measuring up”.

My prayer is that the women who lay eyes on “Our Life in Words“, will be encouraged, enlightened, and all the more hopeful.

For the Moms,

Hannah

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This series is for the Moms! In honor of Mothers, this May will be chock-full of real stories of Motherhood from Moms of all ages, in all stages. Join me as I feature different Moms (on a weekly basis) who will so graciously be sharing their life in words.

If you missed the previous feature, catch it here. Stay tuned for more stories of triumph, valleys, and faith.