for the purpose of passing on

There are some things that we take in for our own benefit. But there's also an increasing number of things in my life that I'm realizing are in me primarily for the purpose of passing on.

Music isn't my gift. Growing up we had excellent music training with both private lessons and public school music programs, and it's not that I was bad at it. It's just not completely my gift. But some of my children are gifted in music and today one of them asked me how he should indicate three beats of rest on the song that he is composing (which shall remain unnamed for his benefit). Were it not for the musical knowledge instilled in me in my childhood, I would have had no idea how to reply. Same with the "Junk Drawer Robotics" 4-H project that involved finding percentages today. Math is not my strength either and yet some instinctive things came back to me in my brain as I sat down with him to figure it out today. It wasn't efficient and it wasn't pretty, but we got the job done.

People say that there are things forced into dormancy when we become mothers, but I would also say that there are dormant things in us until we become mothers. There are things we've been taught, given, and tucked away "for such a time as this" and God does not let any good resource go to waste. So many things that are given to us to do, or say, or teach draw on a lifetime of experiences, things we thought we'd never need, and even things that we maybe believed to have been wasted or worthless.

And so it gives us hope for the future, knowing that as mothers we have what is needed available to us through God's grace, tucked inside of our heart and spirit somewhere, given by Him at the appointed time. It gives us hope for the future for our children as well, knowing that we can pray for God to be planting things in them, using us as His hands and feet, giving them the things they currently need and maybe also unknowingly giving them the things they are going to need, for the years ahead. It's always the same truth - that nothing is given to use for the purpose of consuming upon our own lusts, but for the purpose of passing on, making Him known, and furthering His glory.