The Shepherd’s Care for Mothers
Dear Friends,
Motherhood has a way of convincing us that we are the shepherds.
From the moment that baby is placed in our arms, something awakens in us that says:
I must protect this child.
I must provide what she needs.
I must make the right decisions.
I must keep him safe.
That instinct is a precious part of being a mother. Yet somewhere along the way, our God-given desire to nurture our children can quietly turn into the exhausting belief that everything depends on us.
If you have been a mother for five minutes or fifty years, you know there are countless reminders that you are not in control.
Perhaps that is why Psalm 23 has comforted generations of God's people. David begins with five simple words: “The LORD is my shepherd.”
Before I shepherd anyone else, I am a sheep.
I need Someone to lead me, feed me, to restore my weary soul, walk with me through dark valleys, protect me from enemies, and bring me safely home.
This week, my friend Sherry Kendrick invites us to walk slowly through Psalm 23 and consider what it means for a mother to live under the loving care of the Good Shepherd. Sherry has spent more than forty-five years investing in children and families through children's ministry, homeschooling, private and public education, and for more than sixteen years as Family Ministry Director at Covenant Church of Naples, Florida. For thirty-six years, she served alongside her husband, Mike, in pastoral ministry. Since his death, Sherry has continued to serve God's people with deep confidence in the faithful care of the Good Shepherd. She is the mother of three grown children and Nana to four grandchildren.
Sherry doesn't write about the Shepherd from a distance. She has needed Him.
In one of this week's devotions, she takes us into a dark valley in her own life. While still in her thirties and raising young children, Sherry cared for both of her parents during their final days. They died just two years apart, and grief and depression followed. She describes that season as dark, lonely, and frightening. Yet in that valley, the words of Psalm 23 became more than familiar Scripture; they became promises she could cling to.
Perhaps that is what makes Psalm 23 so precious. David never promises that belonging to the Shepherd means we will avoid dark valleys. He tells us something far better: the Shepherd goes into the valley with us.
Dear friend, I don't know what season of motherhood you are in today.
Perhaps your house is filled with little people, and you would simply like five uninterrupted minutes. Maybe you are navigating the complicated teenage years, wondering when to speak and when to be silent. Perhaps your children are grown, and you are discovering that letting go requires a whole new kind of faith. Maybe one of your children is walking away from everything you taught them, and your heart aches with questions no one can answer.
Or perhaps, like me, you are far enough along in this journey to look backward as well as forward. We can see places where we wish we had parented differently. We remember conversations we would like to have again. Yet we can also trace the unmistakable fingerprints of God's grace across our families, and that is one reason I am especially grateful for Sherry's words this week.
She reminds us that the answer to our weariness is not becoming better shepherds. It is learning to stay closer to Our Shepherd.
Psalm 23 begins with the Shepherd providing everything His sheep need. He leads us to green pastures and still waters. He restores our souls and leads us in paths of righteousness. When the road takes us through the valley of the shadow of death, He does not abandon us there. He is with us and prepares a table for us. His goodness and covenant mercy pursue us, and finally, He brings us home.
Do you see the grace in that?
The sheep is not directing this journey. The Shepherd is.
This is wonderfully good news for mothers who are tired of trying to control outcomes only God can control. Our children's salvation does not rest on our perfect parenting. Their futures are not ultimately secured by our wisdom. We are called to faithfully teach, pray, love, discipline, encourage, repent when we sin, and point them again and again to Jesus. Yet God alone changes hearts.
Our hope is not in how tightly we hold our families together. Our hope is in the Shepherd who holds His people and never lets them go.
So come with us this week. Bring your weariness. Bring the child you cannot fix. Bring your regrets about yesterday and your fears about tomorrow. Bring the questions that keep you awake at night.
Then listen, listen for the voice of your Shepherd. He is not asking you to carry your family by yourself. He is inviting you to follow Him.
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
Before this week begins, take a few quiet moments and read Psalm 23 slowly. Where do you most need the Shepherd's care today? Write down the name of the child or circumstance you are trying hardest to control. Open your hands before the Lord and entrust that burden to Him, and then remind yourself: I am not the Shepherd. I am His sheep. The Lord is my Shepherd, and He will faithfully give me everything I need to follow Him today.
Treasured by Him,
Sharon
PRAYER
Good Shepherd, how quickly I forget that before I am a mother, grandmother, wife, friend, or caregiver, I belong to You. Forgive me for carrying responsibilities You never gave me and for trying to control what belongs only in Your hands. Thank You for knowing my children better than I do and loving them more perfectly than I ever could. As we walk through Psalm 23 this week, quiet my heart and teach me to recognize Your voice. Lead me, restore me, walk with me through every valley, and teach me to rest in Your covenant love. Make my life a testimony to my children and grandchildren that our Shepherd is faithful. In the name of Jesus, our Good Shepherd, Amen.
Are there other women in your life who could benefit from a daily dose of encouragement? Forward this email so they can click on this link to Subscribe to Daily Treasure to be better equipped to walk by faith on the pathway God has marked out for them.
Sharon W. Betters is a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, pastor’s wife, and cofounder of MARKINC Ministries, where she is the Director of Resource Development. Sharon is the author of several books, including Treasures of Encouragement, Treasures in Darkness, and co-author with Susan Hunt of Aging with Grace. She is the co-host of the Help & Hope podcast and writes Daily Treasure, an online devotional.
Contact Sharon with comments or questions at dailytreasure@markinc.org.
