A Young Mother’s Perspective on Christian Living

Who Am I to Further God’s Kingdom?

Written by: Kayla Olmstead

Have you ever thought to yourself, “Who am I to further the kingdom of God?” Have you been going through life glad that there are people out there preaching to the lost while you sit at home and read the Bible to yourself? If so, then you and I are a lot alike.

Let me start by saying that I am in no way an expert on biblical matters. I am only in my late 20s, have been married just under 5 years, my oldest of three boys is only 3 ½, and I hold a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Animal Science.

By societies standards, I am young, inexperienced, and unqualified.

Who am I to say, “Here I am Lord, use me¹.”

I can’t offer great knowledge and I seek more advice than I am able to give. I do, however, have a goal that I believe we are all striving for. My goal is to hear God say “Well done good and faithful servant².”

I also have a hope I believe is shared by most every mother/wife in the kingdom of God. My hope is that my husband, and my children, and my children’s children, and so on, also hear those precious words.  

If you are like me, you look at yourself and feel as though you are only just beginning to grasp how to accomplish your goal. We all have to start somewhere, so let’s address these qualifications (or lack thereof) and search the scriptures for what God has to say about them.

 I am young, but that doesn’t discourage me and it shouldn’t discourage you either.

If we look at the scriptures, we find many young people used by God. 

David was still a young man when he was anointed (1 Samuel ch. 16: 1-15), began helping Saul (1 Samuel ch. 16: 14-23), and when he first went into battle against Goliath and the Philistine army (1 Samuel ch. 17). Mary was a young woman when she was chosen to carry and raise Jesus (historically accepted as in her teens). Samuel was just a boy when the Lord first spoke to him (1 Samuel 3). Timothy was a young man when he worked under Paul and help spread the good news of Jesus. 1 Timothy 4:12 says, “Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, and in purity.” If ever there was a verse for a young person to live by, this would be it. This verse has brought me so much in my life. I was first introduced to this verse in middle school and it has guided and uplifted me countless times.

 I encourage every young person out there to memorize this verse and live by it, God will not count you out because of your age.

How can God use someone as inexperienced as me? 

I am inexperienced and unpracticed. I haven’t been married for long and I have been a mother for even less.

 To answer that question, we need to look at how God has used inexperienced people before. 

What experience did Eve have as she raised her children? I can call my mom, my mother-in-law, friends, or even look back on my own raising when I have questions or doubts about my ability to raise my own children. How lost and alone and inexperienced must Eve have felt. Rahab had never experienced God’s love, only His power over the gods and people of the land. Despite this, she protected God’s spies, saved her family, changed her life, and became a member of Jesus’ ancestry. Romans 15:4 says, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” We do not have to be like Eve with no one to call on, we can look back at her life and learn from her mistakes. 

We can look back at Rahab and experience the life changing hope of God. We can share their stories when we feel that our own life experiences are insufficient, but only if we know them ourselves.

I am unqualified. I hold no biblical degree and the degree I do have has very little to do with my daily life of being a stay-at-home mom. 

Society tells us that we should seek out qualified, educated people for everything. 

God’s actions show us that He thinks differently. Every single apostle was considered ill qualified by the scholars of the time, yet Jesus hand selected them to follow him and spread his gospel. Paul was the only one who seemed to have any sort of qualification that should have given the people confidence in his ministry, see Philippians 3:4-6, yet he tells the Philippian Christians that he “considers them rubbish (vs. 8).” Paul reminds us in this chapter that what the world sees as things to be confident in is nothing compared to knowing Christ and striving to be in fellowship with Him.

So, who am I to further the kingdom of God? 

I am a determined wife, mother, and daughter of Christ armed with instructions, encouragement, and wisdom from God Himself. Let’s not forget what the goal is, the goal is to live by God’s standards and hear him say “Well done.” Knowing His word is how we reach that precious goal.

¹ Phrase taken from Isaiah 6:8

² Phrase taken from The Parable of the Bags of Gold found in Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:11-27