I want to dedicate this post to my wonderful mother, who showed me what it is like to be a selfless, wise and strong woman after God’s own heart.
In a time when the glory and blessings of motherhood are being erased by the transgender movement, the push for abortion and the feminist rage, I think it’s beyond time to celebrate mothers and TRUE motherhood.
The Identity of a Mother
First and foremost, I think it is important to establish who can be a mother. In this day and age, this identity is apparently a little confusing.
In the most basic definition, a mother is: “A female parent”. The key word here being FEMALE. Only a woman can be a mother. Simple, right?
So it’s established WHAT a mother is…now WHO is she?
She is a selfless, loving woman who works hard to make sure her children are equipped to be able to go out into the world as competent adults…and to make a difference for God’s kingdom.
Ever notice that if Mom is not happy, everyone follows suit? She is the one who establishes the mood of the home. Her emotional state will often become the condition of the entire household, and even the youngest child will absorb the effects of it. The hours her children spend in her presence will have a lasting influence on their lives. They will become largely what she makes them. She faces the noble challenge of molding their young lives. Motherhood is one of life’s highest honors, and one of its heaviest responsibilities.
Intimidated yet? Take heart! Motherhood is an important calling, and if God called you to this role, He gave you an amazing and unique gift, one that He will help you accomplish.
The Role of Motherhood
What is the role of a mother?
Mothers have many jobs, but I think most of them fall within these three categories: Caregiver, Nurturer, and Teacher.
Caregiver
A mother takes care of their child’s every need every day. A mother, first off, gives life at birth… and even before, in the womb. They give food (only a mother’s body can provide milk a newborn needs) and make meals for their kids. They clean and dress their little ones and, as they grow, take them shopping for clothes and show them how to care for themselves. They make sure all their kids, of every age, are healthy and happy.
Nurturer
Love, comfort, compassion. Words that we normally associate with mothers. Who does a child want when they are sick? When they are hurt or sad, who do they want to comfort them? Mothers have a unique bond and intimacy with their children unlike any other, that no man will ever fully know. Women are more gentle and compassionate by nature. God created us with a unique heart and tendency that is necessary in motherhood.
Teacher
A mother is largely responsible for imparting wisdom, knowledge and basic life skills to their children. No human knows a child better than their mom. They have the best idea on how to communicate with them and what it is that the child needs to know and how. A mom knows how their child learns best, and often, they can get to and understand things about their kids that no one else can.
“The mother’s heart is the child’s schoolroom.” –Henry Ward Beecher
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” –Proverbs 22:6
A mother’s heart is a sacrificial love. They give of themselves for their children, sacrificing their own desires and ambitions for the betterment of their child. Motherhood is often called a “thankless job”, but with all the sacrifices and responsibilities come many privileges and blessings.
Blessings of Motherhood
In today’s society motherhood is looked on as a prison sentence and children are viewed as a burden, even by those in the Christian circle. We are told constantly that “we can have it all” and “women deserve to have a career the same as men”, and children just get in the way of that. So you either sacrifice your children, or pawn off their education and care on others.
Even if one does not claim to believe that children are a burden, the lack of loving parental involvement in their children’s lives and behaviors, and the godly pushing and guidance of their teenagers and young adults, shows, to me, that this job of motherhood is indeed viewed as a burden.
But this is not how God wanted this job to be seen. This is not how HE viewed children… OR motherhood.
“Children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward.” –Psalm 127:3
“When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.” –John 16:21
“Her children rise up and call her blessed…” –Proverbs 31:28
“Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of Heaven.” –Matthew 19:14
“And He took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, ‘Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.’ ” –Mark 9:36-37
In a world effected by feminism we can easily believe the lie that women are not worth more than being a wife and a mother. For a woman who wants to be a wife and a homemaker, the world tries to make them believe that they are oppressed and that the God of the Bible wants to keep them in a lowly place, confined to the house and unable to be a strong woman.
Yet that couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is, a woman that chooses motherhood and the care of her child over a career or temporary dreams… that woman is a ruler!
“Strength and honor are her clothing; she shall rejoice in time to come.” –Proverbs 31:25
The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world. Children are our future so the state of the next generation says a lot about how the world will look. How do you want that to be?
Conclusion
This is God’s design for motherhood.
Yet today we see this image vanishing as we watch young women being encouraged to kill their own babies in the womb because they are inconvenient or not what they wanted. We are bombarded everywhere by the feminist philosophy that traditional motherhood should be looked at as a burden and mothers should not let children tie them to the home and stop them from pursuing a career. Mothers, and women in general, are being erased by society telling us that MEN can be mothers and anyone who feels like it or wants to can be a woman.
All of these are lies meant to rip apart the family unit. Don’t fall for it.
I want to encourage all mothers out there who are trying to raise and teach their children as God has called them to: keep at it! This job is a hard one, but God has given you everything you need to do it. You don’t have to mother in the same way you see others do it. God made you unique and gave your unique children to YOU…you answer to none but Him.
To ALL women, mothers or not: this is not an easy time. In the name of equality and progress, we have erased ourselves and removed our dignity. In the name of uniqueness and shaking off chains, we have made ourselves less unique and chained ourselves even more. Ladies, God made our bodies so special that they experience crazy and wonderful things. We can grow another human being inside of us and then create such an attachment to this small individual that no one else has, and no man will every truly understand. This is something that CANNOT be duplicated, no matter how the world tries. Embrace that!
God made you special…and He made mothers rock stars. Happy Mother’s Day!
Preserving Foundations 