Joyful Help Meet At Home

In Psalm 113:9 we read, "He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD." 
     To some this may seem like a promise that becoming or being a mother will in and of itself bring joyfulness. But if that is true, why then is it such a struggle to be joyful? Shall we take a closer look?
     Happiness, in the minds of many people is the same thing as joyfulness.But happiness comes from circumstances; joy from within.  For the Believer, joy comes from The Lord. Nehemiah wrote,"...For the joy of the LORD is your strength."
     Joy, for the Child of God radiates from within. This means that even when life is at its worst we can still rejoice. 
     Joy is separated from happiness in this; Happiness has to do with happenings, whereas JOY is purposeful. You have to set your heart and mind to be joyful TO BE JOYFUL.
     Mothers, we get to practice this every moment of every day after our first baby arrives. Naturally we are not just tired, we are exhausted.  Our hormones are crazy: up one second and we're on top of the world, and then we are down in the dumps, the next second we are crying with joy etc. ad infinitum.Not only are our hormones making us appear to be mad, our sleep pattern is off. Seemingly, we never get a minute to ourself.We start to wonder, "Where is 'the joy' I'm supposed to be feeling? It must have gotten lost somewhere amongst the dirty diapers and unfolded laundry."
     Sisters, joy doesn't just happen. It isn't a "fringe benefit" of Motherhood. Then how, or where, does it come from? It comes from deep within, down to our very soul. It comes from knowing that regardless of lifes difficulties and hardships that God is in control and the He has a purpose in allowing these things to occur.
     Only when we begin to allow Him to take over what we are far too inadequate to handle, are we on the "Road to Joy".
     Joy is a matter of the heart and the will. It is purposely NOT looking or seeing cicumstances, but it isn't hiding your head in the sand to escape reality either.  Rather it is looking at our circumstances in light of the big picture and Eternity.  Joy enables you to smile when life gives you lemons, and you have neither the water nor the sugar to make lemonade.
     Joy comes when we remember that the hardships of today, the toil of day-to-day living, the nurturing that takes so much of our time, will one day pass.Joy during those times will determine how we will look back on our mothering. Will we look back with sorrow and regret longing to relive the past?Or will we smile to ourself as we replay the memories we thought we forgot of things only a child/children would think or do?
     As for me, I want the latter of the two. I already have regrets which makes it even more crucial for me to begin to set my heart and mind to being a joyful mother. Now I must purpose to look at daily "disasters" as only minor inconveniences.  It won't be easy. It will take lots of practice. And I am sure that I won't always succeed. But isn't it worth the effort? The days of mothering little hearts and souls passes far too quickly, and I've already lost too much time.
     Perhaps the real measure of our joyfulness as mothers will only be seen when our children are full-grown, raising children of their own, our grandchildren.  How will they treat them?  How will they speak to them?  How will they remember US?  Will they remember our chiding and nagging, or our screeching and squawking?  Or will their eyes light up as they recall with laughter "fishy-kisses", silly faces, cute pet names, and snuggling in bed with you? 
     Have you already seen an unappealing reflection of yourself in your children?  I have.  It doesn't make me happy. but Praise The LORD that I still have some time to mend my ways, build some bridges, to make some memories, to show my children the joy of The LORD.
     If we are joyful mothers, we will most certainly be joyful WIVES.Our husbands will probably be glad for the change.
     With my whole heart, I believe this joy is there for us, if we will but reach out, pull it to ourselves and embrace it wholeheartedly.  God's Vitamin Pill J-O-Y, is what will see us through the trials of life no matter how large or small.  Remember Nehemiah's words, "...For the joy of The LORD is your strength." Neh. 8:10