Motherhood
Motherhood. Youth and beauty fade, friendships may fall by the wayside, but a mother’s love is unconditional and outlives them all.
Motherhood is a choice one makes to put someone else’s happiness and well-being ahead of your own. It is the purest, most rewarding kind of love that exists. Motherhood is a gift from God whether you are a birth mother or a mother figure.
There was a time many years ago that I thought I would not be able to be a mother. My body at the time had failed me. I was told by my doctors that I would never be able to conceive due to a medical condition. I wanted a child so badly that I prayed to the Lord to give me one and it didn’t matter whether it was a girl or boy. At that time, I remember how sad it made me when I couldn’t avoid stopping behind a school bus and watching the kids unload. I thought I would never experience picking up a child from the bus stop or from school.
As fate would have it, 40 years ago, God blessed and gifted me with a miracle; a child and now three precious grandchildren. This is something I have never taken for granted. I think the greatest masterpiece of God’s heart is the heart of a mother.
Motherhood is beautiful and rewarding, knowing that you are nurturing a beautiful soul is humbling and full of grace. But it can also be one of the most challenging and sometimes full of heartbreak that a mother can experience. It amazes me the lengths mothers will go to protect their children and the sacrifices they make to give their children a better life.
Motherhood means you go all in. It’s giving 100% of yourself. There’s no way to be a perfect mom. We moms have all experienced that feeling. However, there are a lot of ways to be a good one, by being selfless and providing love, care and support at every stage of a child’s development, even into adulthood (I’m still here).
Being a mother has made my life more complete. I’m blessed and grateful to be a mother. Motherhood has given me wisdom, strength, and some patience. It has taught me to have courage, compassion, and empathy.
Proverbs 31:25-26
“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.” Reflection: This verse from Proverbs highlights the attributes of godly mothers – strength, dignity, wisdom, and faithfulness.”
I believe God expects mothers to lead by example and by modeling good behavior, to teach hard lessons, morals, independence, discipline, kindness, altruism and most of all that God loves our children unconditionally and is always there for them. Teaching them to pray is a big responsibility for a mother. The Virgin Mother is the ultimate role model for mothers. Mary portrays traits of holiness and humbleness.
With Mother’s Day coming up, we need to pray for our mothers and those who have gone before us and for those who have not found joy in motherhood or who are estranged from their children or with their own mother. I pray that reconciliation and forgiveness can take place. Life is too short to carry this burden.
Let us celebrate and honor and give praise to all mothers.
Wishing mothers a blessed and joyful Mother’s Day.