I found this in the very early days of being a mom. It’s in Dr. James Dobson’s book Bringing Up Boys (which is great). I don’t think it was coincidence that this paragraph found me then. I really, desperately needed it. In those difficult first few days home, when it felt like adulthood and sacrifice slapped me in the face, it encouraged me.
“Your task as a mother, in conjunction with your husband, is to build a man out of the raw materials available in this delightful little boy, stone upon stone upon stone. Never assume for a moment that you can “do your own thing” without serious consequences for him and his sister. I believe this task must be your highest priority for a period of time. It will not always be required of you. Before you know it, that child at your feet will become a young man who will pack his bags and take his first halting steps into the adult world. Then it will be your turn. By all expectations, you should have decades of health and vigor left to invest in whatever God calls you to do. But for now, there is a higher calling. Raising children who have been loaned to us for a brief moment outranks every other responsibility. Besides, living by that priority when kids are small will produce the greatest rewards at maturity.”
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