‘It says his name!’ she exclaims, eyes lit up and finger stabbing her Japanese-English Bible. Puzzled, we ask her to explain. We’re reading Luke, in between entertaining our young children, and it’s all new to my Japanese friend. She explains that the way ‘Jesus’ has been translated incorporates the characters of her son’s name (meaning ‘goodness’). ‘It’s because I had my son that I went to baby group, and because of the baby group that I met you, and you’re introducing me to Jesus!’
My phone buzzes and, absent-mindedly, I reach for it. The email is from a friend, a member of my mums’ cell group. I expect a routine communication about a rota, but instead it’s an unexpected, passionate testimony of coming to faith: ‘I never quite felt the presence of the Spirit in my life as I do now…be assured that, far from being a bad time, new motherhood was the perfect time for me to re-affirm my faith…I left [my old life] behind when I started to attend an exciting church, join our cell group, read and interpret the Bible, and pray daily.’
It’s story time at toddler group. I’ve talked about Jesus’ death – the children have heard the nails hammering, felt the rough cross and smelt the vinegary sponge – and now I’m saying, slowing and deliberately, allowing time to sign the important words, ‘Jesus died so we can be friends with God.’ It’s for the children – but, as I speak, I’m aware it’s for everyone: the gospel in its simplest, yet most challenging, form.
Motherhood is sociable – if you want to, you can make a lot of friends. United by a common experience, and catered for by an over-abundance of pre-school groups, mums often build strong, lasting relationships with each other.
Motherhood is time-releasing. You don’t have more time – you have less, really. But it takes on a new meaning. Away from the prescriptive nature of a paid job, at least during maternity leave, you’re in control of how you spend your days.
God is at work in the lives of new parents. But he wants to use us, as we make new friendships and have the time to invest in them. Will we ask him to open hearts and minds? Will we ask him to lead us into friendships where he can bless others with fresh knowledge of his reality?
God is strong. And his strength is made perfect through our weakness. I’m more tired, forgetful and inarticulate than I’ve ever been. But if it takes a bunch of mums at the end of their resources to more fully show up God’s glory and majesty, then bring on the sleep deprivation: I’m praying for revival.
Lucy Rycroft is married to Al and they have two small children. She loves chocolate and building Duplo towers. She blogs at desertmum1.
Read our feature on how to turn your parent and toddler group into a missional opportunity.
