Nations celebrate motherhood at different times of the year and in the USA, Mother’s Day 2021 falls on Sunday, May 9th.
As we prepare for Mother’s Day, I am reminded of the importance of who a mother is to her child, as well as who a wife is to her husband. I believe that we are all called to these important individual duties in the family, and as each one is a unique and special gift from God, we are also called to protect the sacred unity of these relationships.
There are choices being made in the infrastructure of the home, as motherhood is changing. Mothers are being pulled away from their families due to finances, divorce, and other difficult life-challenges. More and more, fathers are abandoning their posts, making it harder for the mother to fulfill this godly position.
Mother Teresa once stated, “Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush, anxious for greater developments and greater riches and so on, so that children have very little time for their parents. Parents have very little time for each other, and in the home begins the disruption of peace of the world.”
I have been writing on the sacrament of marriage for well over a year now. I fully understand what it means to have unity in the home, and I personally know what it means when you don’t. I have watched in many circumstances, where the enemy has strategically tried to infiltrate the family unit, in various families, and need I say, in all classes of people. The purpose to divide doesn’t just end with the family household. There is division among friends, colleagues, churches, and other organizations, as well as nations taking place.
Do we truly recognize the importance of motherhood? Do we acknowledge mothers as essential caregivers and nurturers of the family, and do we understand the sacrifice it takes to be able to do this?
I came upon a very special excerpt from Thomas Nelson’s Woman’s Study Bible that explains “motherhood” quite well:
“More than a job or responsibility, mothering is ministry. Most assuredly it takes work! It means sacrifice. Children do not come off an assembly line, nor are they the by-product of an impersonal biological process; they are to be lovingly nurtured by their mothers. Mothers divide time among their children but multiply their love for all their children. To this, they add the care of the home, often subtracting many extras in order to do so.
As a mother lets go of her own life for the sake of her child, she is reminded of the depth and height and breadth of God’s love for her, and in a unique way she experiences the true joy of motherhood. Godly mothers are the nation’s greatest treasure, the Lord’s best helpers, and the most blessed among women.”
Proverbs 31 states that a wife of noble character is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks for nothing. She brings him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She gets up while it is still night; and provides food for her family. She is strong and sets about her work vigorously. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
Whether you’re approaching a new marriage, starting a new family, or doing your part in extending your hand to the needy… God has instilled this heavenly gift of loving and nurturing others deep down inside of each one of us who ‘mother’. With or without a physical child of your own, you have been ordained with this maternal gift of life.
We give life to others in many ways, and in ways that some may not understand. We give from our heart and soul to those around us. It’s in the everyday parts of our heart that we share.
Praise be to God for the blessings of our mothers. It is, truly, in the way that we care.