This morning the kids asked what I wanted for Mother’s Day this year? I rattled off a few suggestions like another perennial for my garden or maybe an attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer might? The more I thought about the whole gift idea, the more I realized that motherhood is gift enough. I know it sounds trite and cliche, but it’s true. Somehow, the honor and nobility of motherhood have gotten lost in the jungle of self-seeking prerogatives and false entitlements.
Maybe we are so used to a life of instant living where desires are satisfied by a drive-thru or a cyber shopping cart, and just maybe that fast paced pattern of living spills into the rest of our lives and stains the expectation that the miraculous and beauty of motherhood isn’t instantaneous. Being a mother is hard, grace-filled, beautiful work.
Some thoughts to ponder regarding motherhood:
The Gift Arrives Uniquely Wrapped
Motherhood doesn’t come just one way. Women experience this gift through adoption, foster care, biological birth, step-parenting, mentoring, and friendship. No matter the way in which motherhood came to you, it’s still a gift.
Find the Joy of Motherhood Even in the Mundane of Daily Life
Some days, we must reach deep down to find the joy in the everyday, mundane details of being a mom, like washing endless loads of laundry, tying shoestrings, and reading the same storybook countless times.
The Gift of Motherhood Causes Metamorphosis of the Heart
Each spring we anticipate the return flight of the Monarch to our little Mid-Atlantic hub and its migratory lay- over on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The ebony-orange winged wonders vacation in my patch of garden for the summer. During one of those days of Monarch watching and weed pulling, I realized that it was through Christ that I could willingly embrace the unknowns and insecurities about being a mother with a fresh confidence.
Motherhood Requires Sacrifice
Sacrificial mothering gives and takes where it hurts most. For some mothers, the hurt begins with bleeding of the bank account, or the clamping off of a once exhilarating and exciting social life, or opportunities to travel, or deadlocking a career. One day you will look back over a collection of memories and forget there was even a sacrifice involved.
The Gift of Motherhood Makes us Go Low
There are some days I feel like I have vertigo from first bending down to see the world from the viewpoint of my nine-year-old. Then, in a moments notice, I swivel and stretch up to peer into the eyes and heart of my taller than me 20-year-old, then go south just a bit to banter about girl stuff with my 16-year-old.
Mothers are never above stooping low to humbly serve, especially those under our roof. Jesus modeled servant-hood to his band of 12, even to the one who became his enemy. Jesus paints a clear picture as to how we daily wash the feet of our beloved band of disciples, our children, every time they enter the threshold of our home as the mud of the world tries to cling to their shoes.
Embrace every part of the gift of motherhood.
Do you see motherhood as a gift? What sacrifices have you had to make in your journey of being a mother? Has motherhood strengthened your walk with Christ?
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