The Mission of Motherhood Book Review
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Last year I had the privilege of briefly interacting with Sally Clarkson, the author of several parenting books, two of which are: The Mission of Motherhood and the Ministry of Motherhood. Upon meeting Sally, I immediately knew that she had much to offer as a Titus 2 woman- someone who both lives the example of a godly woman and offers her wisdom to the younger generation. I’m excited to present to you The Mission of Motherhood Book Review.
Before I begin the review, I wanted to give you just a little of my mothering journey so that you can capture how it relates to The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson.
When I became pregnant with my first daughter, I worked a full-time career. After having six weeks off work with my precious special needs girl, financially, I had no choice but to return to work. I hated it and I cried every day on the way to work and every day on the way home. It wasn’t that I hated the job- but I felt torn each time I left my baby, even though she was at home with her father during the day. I didn’t really understand my feelings completely and just tried to plow my way through the season. It never became any easier to leave her, especially through all the transitions that followed. (To understand more of our family’s story, you can read here.)
When I became pregnant with my next baby, my situation was completely different. My husband and I knew that I couldn’t continue to work full-time, even though we needed the money. We both felt that leaving our children in child care was not an option for our family. So we sacrificed our time together in order to save our family time. My husband continued to work nights and watch the children during the day. I had flexibility at my work at the time and was given the privilege of bringing the baby in to the office for a few months. This worked for about a year and then God gave us the blessing of another child.
When I became pregnant with my third baby, we transitioned a little more. I dropped my hours back for a few months, then took a second job in the evenings. For one month, I worked both jobs so that I could transition from working part-time during the day to working part-time a few evenings a week, teaching piano lessons at a local music studio. This worked well for about a year.
When I became pregnant with my fourth baby, we transitioned again. I had a few piano students that I had been teaching from my home for several years and the music studio in which I had been teaching went through a business transition. This became the opportune time for me to stop teaching at the studio and only teach piano students from my home.
From Baby 1 to Baby 4, nine years had passed.
Transitioning from a full-time career outside the home to a work-at-home mom took me almost a decade, but it has been worth every single moment of strategy and sacrifice to arrive at that destination.
I’ve enjoyed the last eight years of mothering as a work-at-home mom. Without my husband’s total support, this family solution wouldn’t be possible. It hasn’t always been ideal nor has it been easy by any stretch of the imagination. But I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Enter The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson, subtitled Touching Your Child’s Heart for Eternity.
This book is divided into 5 sections. Each section of the book contains between 1-3 chapters and is full of rich teaching and packed with Biblical truth. Sally explains God’s design for motherhood and the empowerment and fulfillment that envelops a mother when they understand God’s purpose and design for motherhood.
Section 1: A Mother’s Calling- Essentially this section addresses how God’s design is completely different from the way our culture and society perceives the role of motherhood.
Section 2: A Mother’s Heart for Her God- In this section, the author covers the important priority of having a God-focused spirit.
Section 3: A Mother’s Heart for Her Children- This section centers on building loving relationships with our children and balancing our other daily responsibilities.
Section 4: A Mother’s Heart for Her Home- In this section, Sally beautifully encourages that our homes should be a wonderful haven away from the world.
Section 5: A Mother’s Heart for Eternity- The key to the book is contained in this one chapter. Mothering is so much more than an 18 year path to independence. Motherhood is a journey of a lifetime.
One of my favorite parts of this book was the practical tips section at the end of each chapter. Since I’m a “ok, awesome, now how can I really live out that principle” kind of gal, I appreciated these tips greatly.
I began this review with my own journey from working full-time, 40 plus hours a week in a secular career, to being a work-at-home mom. The purpose for that explanation is to say that I believe this book will assist any mom, no matter where you are in the process of motherhood. I will disclose that while I don’t agree with Sally on every single parenting view she presents, I truly believe in the Biblical principles she provides and completely appreciate the practical mothering solutions she suggests. Her beautiful outlook is refreshing and rejuvenating.
You can find Sally’s books right here:
The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child’s Heart for Eternity
The Ministry of Motherhood: Following Christ’s Example in Reaching the Hearts of Our Children
All of our motherhood journeys are unique; the question is: What is God’s design for motherhood? Once we recognize His plan, we can then make the determination what it will look like for our individual family to honor God’s design.
Did you find this book review helpful? Would you like to see more parenting articles on RachelWojo.com? Why or why not?
Have a marvelous Monday and I’ll see you tomorrow!
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