I love it when people say “Motherhood is a full-time job.” Full-time job? Try all-the-time job. The toys, dishes, laundry, ironing, cleaning and diaper changes never end. There is nowhere to clock out and go home. There is no vacation time or “Thank God it’s Friday.”

Not that I’m complaining.

I totally love my job.

But there is an element of motherhood that is often overlooked:

Missions

Missions? That sounds odd. Oh, but it’s true.

Our children are perhaps the smallest, but greatest mission field there is in the world.

Sometimes we place greater importance on the ministries outside of the home, but God has given us a ripe mission field right under our roof.

Our children need Jesus as much as the teenager sitting in juvie lockup. And a part of our task as mothers is to carefully disciple them and train them to follow the call God has placed on their lives.

This is so easy to forget as we work hard from dawn to long past dusk caring for our homes, preparing meals, and intervening in sibling rivalries; entertaining guests, preparing Sunday school projects, and running our children from football practice to piano lessons.

But we must ask ourselves three important questions:  

1. Do we view children as a mission field? It is so easy to to forget just how much our children need Jesus. We are taught that children are a blank slate, that they want to do good, and a myriad of other humanistic statements. Yet, Jesus said that there is no one who is good and that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God—including our children. They are a mission field that needs to be harvested!

 2. What are we doing to evangelize our children? It isn’t enough to take them to Sunday school and youth group. Even homeshooling isn’t enough. As good and important as these things are, they do not equal evangelism or discipleship. We must carefully train our children to listen for and obey God’s voice, to fear Him above all others, and the value of daily seeking His face.  

3. What are we modeling for our children? Do they see in us the importance of God’s Word?

Do they catch us on our knees in prayer in the early morning or late hours of night?

Do they know that when their feet stray that we will sacrifice sleep to intercede for their souls?

Are they assured that we will not compromise the Word or the standards we hold as a family?

Do they see us standing alone: refusing to laugh at a dirty joke, guarding our eyes from R-rated billboards, or telling the coaches that our kids will not play on Sundays?

Do they hear our tongues bless or curse, encourage or gossip?

What are our actions speaking to them?

In all honesty, the smallest mission field is the greatest…and the hardest, because the ones we are evangelizing see us at our best and worst, strongest and weakest.

They see us when we fail the worst and fall the hardest.

But if we remain consistent and determined to follow God’s Word no matter the cost, the fruit we reap will be far greater than we could ever imagine! 

Rosilind Jukic, a Pacific Northwest native, is a missionary living in Croatia and married to her Bosnian hero. Together they live with their two active boys where she enjoys fruity candles, good coffee and a hot cup of herbal tea on a blustery fall evening. Her passion for writing led her to author her best-selling book The Missional Handbook. At A Little R & R she encourages women to find contentment in what God created them to be. You can also find her at Missional Call where she shares her passion for local and global missions. She can also be found at these other places on a regular basis. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google +.