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IN One of Her recent SUBSTACKS Looking in the Mirror: A Mother’s Transformation, BELoved Sister Aleksandra Petkovska said somethINg that stirred soooooo much IN my HeART.
“There is no before, there is only after.”
It made me reflect on how havINg Children and BEcomINg and BEINg a MotHER IS the zenith of SELF-SACRIFICE, wHere the concept of self IS renounced and completely obliterated IN order to lay down your Life for another.
God INstituted the vocation of MotHERhood as a missional Way of LivINg.
God’s Plan and Purpose for All MotHER’s IS to Know Him and to make Him Known through the Lives of the Children enTrusted to their care.
MotHERhood IS a divINe appoINtment that draws a Woman closer to INnerstandINg God's HeART and character. IN and through MotHERhood, a Woman IS schooled IN the fundamental lesson of unconditional Love — reflectINg the essence of God's Nature towards every One of His BELoved Children. MotHERhood echoes the ultimate sacrifice God made by offerINg His own Son as WELL as the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus Christ made by offerINg His own Life, so that ours could BE saved. To Give Life to another — IS to lay down your own. Just as the day of Christ's Death IS our True day of Birth, the day that a Woman dies to Herself IS Her True day of Birth as a MotHER.
To BE a MotHER IS to lay down One’s Life — to die to self — All the days of Her Life.
ThIS IS not somethINg to fear — thIS IS somethINg to revere. Death to self IS not a loss of Life — it IS a path to new Life. Death to self IS simply the BEgINnINg.
Labouring for One’s Child does not end when He or She IS Born.
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝟭𝟱:𝟭𝟮
We love because he first loved us. 𝟭 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝟰:𝟭𝟵
The HeART of MotHERhood — IS the summit of self-sacrifice.
At thIS summit, a Woman gives Herself Wholly to sustaIN new Life, reflectINg the sacrificial Love of Christ.
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 𝗘𝗽𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝟱:𝟭-𝟮
MotHERs are LivINg examples of Christ's Love IN action, shapINg not just their Children but also their own Spirits, IN the likeness of His character. IN and through MotHERhood a Woman IS called to express, emBody and emulate His selfless Nature IN Her Devotion to Her Children.
Through the colourful tapestry of MotHERhood, Women are given a rich opportUNITY to exhibit the Fruit of the Spirit — Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, KINdness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.
Sacrifice IS One of those Words I used to have an aversion to. However, as I explore the etymological Roots of it, the distortions are clearINg and I see Now, more than ever, THE VALUE IN AND VIRTUE OF SACRIFICE.
The Word sacrifice, Rooted IN its LatIN ORIGINs, tells a compellINg story.
Derived from 'sacrificium', the Word itSelf IS a blend of 'sacer', INdicatINg somethINg sanctified from the everyday for the engagement and INvolvement IN the Eternal, and 'facere', which translates to "to make."
Sacrifice IS not merely an offerINg. It IS the act of settINg apart somethINg from the temporal realm to forge, sustaIN, and / or mend right relationship with what, and more importantly, WHO, IS timeless. It IS the act of renouncINg what IS valuable on a material level IN recognition that you Will gaIN somethINg of much greater worth on a Spiritual plane.
Sacrifice, tHerefore, IS much more than a mere givINg up; it IS a deliberate act of makINg and CREATING — it IS a personal INvestment IN the Eternal ECOnomy, wHere what IS secular BEcomes and IS sacred.
When you lay down your Life to BEar and disciple Godly Children, you are depositINg your treasures IN Heaven, wHere they Truly BElong.
AMEN.
