When I’m asked the question of what in church life is most exciting and encouraging to me, I will often reply, ‘Mum’s groups’. Many of the mums at Grace are unable to attend a life group in an evening. Yet they are undeterred, choosing instead to get together as mums during the day to study, be totally honest, and help one another as disciples of Jesus.

It is a sight to behold. I have occasionally stumbled into a group meeting in our home after clambering over endless pushchairs stacked outside, and found myself walking into a wall of sound (babies everywhere) and smiles (bibles open, coffee brewing, cake half gone, conversation flowing).

I cannot overstate how vital and countercultural this is.

The world has an ambivalent and often conflicted view of mothering as a calling. Of course, everyone knows it matters. But being a mother is also seen as second best to advancement in the workplace; a kind of sell-out choice by those who have decided to ‘lean out’ rather than ‘lean in’. And that is entirely wrong.

A woman who has a child is by definition called to be a mother, and it is among the highest and most noble of tasks. She is engaged in the long-term process of disciple-making in the most intense and challenging way possible. She is nurturing the future that we all depend upon in the hope of raising young men and women of God, yet she does this without pay, without a break, and often without thanks. The stakes of her calling are unimaginably high, the effort is relentless, and the charge is holy.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the mothers at Grace. Your passion and dedication is seen. Thank you for pouring your lives into the children. Thank you for helping one another, and engaging in serious study together so that you might be better equipped. Thank you for the unceasing labours against a backdrop of laughter and of heartache. May you be used by God to raise up children in the faith who are fiercely and zealously committed to Christ, saturated in his word, filled with his Spirit, and ready to go on changing the world.