The Craft of Motherhood

The Artisan Soul by Erwin McManus

Ch 5:  “Craft: The Elegance of Workmanship”

Creating a masterpiece takes a lifetime of hard work.

Have you ever met someone who is a genius at what they do? Or someone who has natural talent? (ex: Michael Phelps, or any other Olympian medal winner)

HARD WORK

p. 125  “I envy those people who early on identified a singular talent, knew exactly what they were born to do, and spent their entire lives doing it well.  They have a distinct advantage over people like me...Here’s the unifying theme between those who find their unique talent at an early age and those for whom that talent takes a lifetime to develop:  greatness never emerges outside of hard work.”

As a mom, would you say that you work hard at what you do? Haha—to say the least!

Eph. 4:28 says, “He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.”

p. 130  “We have come to believe that if we have a natural talent, creativity should come easily, especially when we add God to the mix...I propose the exact opposite is true: if God created us to be successful at something, then he has called us to work hard at it.”

p. 131  “Every creative endeavor involves the integration of passion and discipline, the intersection of talent and skill.”

Does creativity come easy to you as a mom? (in the way you live life with your children) 

Do you feel a natural inclination to be a mom? Or do you have to really work at it?  (there’s nothing wrong or right about this answer!)

(Most moms say it is HARD WORK and does not come easy!)

STRONG & COURAGEOUS

p. 131  “David’s admonition to Solomon is not ‘be inspired and creative’ but ‘be strong and courageous.’...The secret to his success and perhaps the secret to ours: to do our greatest work, we must overcome the temptation to be afraid or become discouraged, engaging the creative process with strength and courage.”

p. 132  “The Scriptures see work as a sacred space...Before taking on this great endeavor, he (Solomon) was first to bring together the right people to accomplish such a great task...those are the people we want to build our future on.”

“It takes a village.”  Moms need each other.  We need encouragement, help, tips, good friends (and family) to help us do this mothering thing...and to remind each other that what we’re doing is very important.  We’re not alone in this.  Be intentional about getting together for these times.

I Chron 28:20-12 “Then David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.  Now behold, there are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God, and every willing man of any skill will be with you in all the work for all kinds of service. The officials also and all the people will be entirely at your command.”

Do you think of yourself as having strength? Courage? Skill? Artistry? Passion? Discipline? 

As a mom—YOU HAVE ALL OF THESE QUALITIES!  Different ones shine at different times.  But, it takes all of these...and more...to accomplish being the best mom you can be.  It takes strength to not take the easy way out; it takes courage to do what is right for your family, even if other families don’t agree; it takes skill to understand your child and know how to love them intentionally; it takes artistry in being flexible for whatever may come your way on any/every day and keeping a positive attitude; it takes passion to do the things you don’t want to do, but you know it’s best for your child; it takes discipline to do all of the above.  All of these are wrapped up in your great love for your child.

Being a mom is probably going to be the biggest creative challenge you’ll ever take on (when you look back on your life), so it’s worth being creative and intentional.

BEAUTY & EXCELLENCE

p. 140-141  “The craftsman understands that beauty and excellence are found in the details.  When it comes to making our lives into works of art, the details are formed by how we choose to live day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute.”

“Art becomes a craft when inspiration is expressed in detail.”

“When something matters to us, the details matter.”

How are beauty and excellence in the details of being a mom?

Our words and actions show our love for our children, which are acts of beauty (touching their cheek, stroking their hair, saying “What a good job you did when _____”, rewarding them for something good they did, etc.  When we take the time to step back and look at our day, notice those acts & words of beauty. 

Excellence is seen as we work out the details—the hard work of  doing things the right way, not taking the easy way out. (ex: if our child needs discipline, don’t wave it off, but deal with it).

Is loving well a craft that needs to be honed over time?  YES!  It can be overwhelming to think of loving well during this season of life.  It’s easy to feel that I am not loving well, because of anger, frustration, disappointment, unfulfillment, etc. 

Loving well comes over time as we get to know our child (and husband) and love them in their love language.  It takes time and patience.

Homework:

Page 196 – Craft: The Elegance of Workmanship

The hard work of greatness

Choose one or two items to work on this week!

MOMS,

YOU WORK HARD! 

YOU ARE STRONG! 

YOU ARE COURAGEOUS! 

YOU EXPRESS BEAUTY AND EXCELLENCE IN THE MYRIAD OF DETAILS YOU HANDLE!

BE ENCOURAGED!!!