Book Review: The Mission of Motherhood

A friend loaned me The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson.

Sally is the mother of 4, ranging in age, at the time the book was written from 6 to teens. While I didn't find much practical help for my season of life (it's all well and good to stop cooking supper to help your teen with his video project, or to tell the 6 yr old & older teens that they need to wait because you're spending some one-on-one time with the 13 yr old, but abit trickier to figure out a way to find alone time for 2 six year olds when there's a baby who nurses all the time. . . ), I did find it to be full of good reminders of, well . . . the mission of motherhood. Sally came from a "professional" background and addresses the struggles of giving up a career, or putting it on a back burner to raise the children God has blessed her with. While this wasn't a struggle for me personally (while I enjoyed my career, I had no desire to continue it, and try to juggle career and children, once my kids were born, nor have I ever regretted my decision to stay home with my kids), I know it IS a very large struggle for many of my mommy friends, so I can appreciate how she addresses it, and shows how she came to realize that God's will was for her to be a full-time mother to her children.

Sally also addresses letting housework, volunteering, church work, etc take precidence over your family, and emphasizes, with many personal examples, the importance of having a true servant's heart toward your children. This is a great, encouraging, gentle reminder that God calls mothers to a scared calling!