Excerpt from THRIVE AND SURVIVE, ZERO TO FIVE

Twenty-one years of mothering amounts to 8,760 hours. We’re in a marathon, not a sprint, parenting one hour at a time. Once we stop straining to figure out when our running will end, we can calm down enough to enjoy (or deal with) the moment. We can manage the race like a distance runner, not bolting at top speed unnecessarily but setting a comfortable pace for the long haul. Steady perseverance will get both mom and child where they want to go.

The Bible speaks about this in Isaiah 28:10 kjv: “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.” We don’t think there’s any other place in the Bible where an instruction is double repeated like that. As a matter of fact, this advice is so important that the Lord repeats it three verses later in exactly the same way, amounting to a quadruple impact.

Isn’t this a great description of mothering? A precept is only one statement; a line smaller yet; a little bit here, a little more there. That’s what mothers are called to do, and by the time children reach adulthood, much has been written on their hearts and accomplished in their lives.

Know this from the beginning, however: even though children grow up, mothering doesn’t end. When your newborn is placed in your arms, her whole world is you. As the old proverb says, “To the world you might be one person, but to one person, you are the world.”

As you move through the days and gradually the years with that child, the relationship will change. While her life broadens, you’ll become a smaller part of her world and be only one of many influencers. Even in the distant future, though, when one day you’re on your deathbed, you’ll continue to be her mother, hopefully still taking advantage of the chance to put precept upon precept, line upon line.

SIDEBAR:

TEACHING TACTICS OF THE MASTER

• Love your pupils.
• Accept them as they are.
• Look them in the eye.
• Keep lessons short.
• Be gentle.
• Tell stories.
• Use visual aids.
• Pray for your students.