Almost six years ago I was on the fast track. Then, I left the workforce for maternity leave. Before I knew it I had transitioned into the stay-at-home mom role. It wasn’t really planned, it just happened. Sure, I have missed the luxuries that a second income often offers, but the time I have with my daughters in invaluable. Our culture gives little to no value to women’s work at home. We pursue careers to neglect so many of the other things that really matter in our lives. Like many mothers I have faced days when I imagined what it would be like to still have a career. I’ve found myself living vicariously through stories my friends and family tell about their careers. Yet, each time, somehow I come to myself and I remember that there is great purpose for this season in my life and much can be realized if I am sensitive to the will of God rather than my own.
I knew that someone out there had to have some insight on these feelings I was dealing with. That someone, was Helen Lee. In her book, The Missional Mom, she addresses so much of what I was feeling. Her writing style is very conversational, as she skillfully invites the reader in by sharing some of her personal thoughts. She begins by highlighting the idea that all Christians have a mission(s) and that as our relationship with Christ grows we should have an ever increasing sense of the “mission(s)” to which God has called us. Throughout the pages the reader is encouraged to pay attention to the opportunities for missions while expecting God to unfold them before us. The job of the believer is to be a willing vessel.
Each chapter shares personal vignettes and stories of mothers that found their mission(s) and offer encouragement, self-assessment, and exhortation. Resisting cultural pressures, becoming a disciple and being both empathetic and sympathetic to those around us are also addressed. Each story shares the need for a single-minded focus to carry out our mission regardless of the reservations, fears or worries that one may have. The focus should be taken off of us on placed onto the souls that we have been preordained to minister to. The reader is encouraged to have a greater personal discipline and a clear eye concerning where to focus our time and energy. Our goal is to draw men and women to Christ and make disciples of them.
I especially connected with Chapter 11. Lee shares one of her personal experiences with living “missionally.” She shares how the Lord led her to homeschool her children. Her experience was very similar to my own. I felt the Lord nudging me in that direction, but I had never considered it as a viable option for our family. Whether the nudge you feel is toward homeschooling, missions, or developing a gift or talent to be used for the up-building of the kingdom, this is the type of read that should provoke you to move in a new direction In fact it’s a call to action as well as a thrust in the right direction.
Free resources, including journal pages, discussion guide and a free chapter from the book are available here.
