It was less than seven weeks until the baby was due, and there was still so much to be done. The nursery wasn’t finished; the house was still disheveled from rearranging to make room for the baby, and there were several essentials we needed to purchase.
I thought seven weeks would be plenty of time to get it all done, but that’s because I didn’t realize how exhausting it is just to be eight or nine months pregnant, let alone get things accomplished in that state.
I sat alone looking around my house, thinking of all the things that needed to be done and lacking the energy to do them. I started to get that overwhelming feeling that nothing was ever going to get done, so I did what any type-A mother would do—I made a list: Finish laundry, put away files, work on nursery decorations … It was a lovely list, but when I got to the end, I knew something was missing.
I heard Jesus’ words to Martha softly in my ears. “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42).
Jesus came to visit the home of Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus. Martha busied herself in the kitchen preparing the meal, while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet soaking in His wisdom. When Martha came in to ask Mary to help, Jesus had those surprising words for her.
Through all the hustle and bustle of baby-prep, I realized I had left off the most important priority of all—prepare to be a godly parent.
The words of my dear friend Tonya came back to me. This mother of three children all under the age of five at the time told me to use my last few weeks of pregnancy wisely. She shared how she used that time to read the Bible and parenting books and really prepared her heart for parenting. “For the next four years, I had no time to read, so every scripture, every piece of godly advice, all the biblical passages I read during that time was all I had to sustain me,” Tonya said. “I was so glad to take advantage of that time while I could.”
Now that I’m past the baby stages of parenting, I can testify that Tonya’s advice was the best advice. Most of us moms do more to prepare our homes than our hearts.
It’s true that if you spend extra time reading and praying that your new baby could come into the world missing some nursery gear and maybe the floors won’t be perfectly clean.
But you will have set your heart on the right goal—to be the best mother you can be under the calling of the Holy Spirit. And hopefully raise up sons and daughters who carry on that godly legacy.