Motherhood. The spectrum of that word is so broad…traditional moms, single moms, absent moms, moms who live thousands of miles away, moms who have left us too soon, women who long to be a mother but have found they are unable to. While each of those situations could have their own focused blog post and need their own unique encouragement, I find myself wanting to draw all of us moms, and even women, together. We all have a connection to motherhood.
The definition of mother as a noun is obvious: “a female parent.” The verb form is where I want to land, “to care for or protect like a mother, act maternally toward.” As a female, created by God, we have this inside of us; it’s part of our created self. Does this mean everyone should be a mother in the traditional sense? Absolutely not…some can’t, some don’t have that desire. But I do think we all have the ability to mother in some way. A friend of mine has been without her earthly mother for many years. She lost her mom to illness, but she still needs a spiritual mother. My own mom, lives 2,400 miles away. I sometimes need that physical presence, that couch to fall on, that next-generation-advice here in front of me. Phone calls don’t always cut it. How many of the women around us are in tense or non-existent relationships with their mothers? Who do they turn to?
My heart breaks when I hear women competing with each other and comparing themselves with other women. I believe we were created to do the opposite…we need each other! How much stronger would we be if we stood with each other instead of in silent comparison or judgement? Moms with littles need other moms with littles to know they aren’t alone in the trenches. They also need moms ahead of them to cheer them on…potty training won’t last forever! Young women need older women to go to with questions and concerns, they need their wisdom and experience! Young teenage girls need trusted women besides their mothers—regardless of how healthy the relationship—because it absolutely takes a village. I often encourage my own teenage girls to find other trusted women to talk to. If they aren’t comfortable talking to me about some things, I want to know they have someone!
You see, we all have the ability to mother and we all have the desire to be mothered. This is how we, as women, become our best selves. We see this played out in John 19 when Jesus is being crucified. He says to John the disciple regarding Mary, “here is your mother,” and likewise to Mary regarding John, “here is your son.” He knew that they would need each other; Mary needed to mother someone and John needed to have that relationship as well. Jesus knew the value of the care and love of motherhood. Ruth and Naomi are another example of this. Naomi had no biological children left so she took Ruth under her wing as her own. What an example of fostering a mother-daughter relationship. That relationship ended up benefitting generations!
As we look at Mother’s Day this year, I hope we can see what a beautiful relationship opportunity we’ve been given. We have the ability to be used by our Heavenly Father to breathe life into each other, to lift up, support, encourage, and fully love each other. I pray that each of you are loved on and honored in some way this year. I pray we would have the eyes to see the women around us who need that extra love and support. I pray we can celebrate the women who mother us: be it mother, grandmother, aunt, cousin, pastor, friend, or neighbor. Honoring our life-giving women shouldn’t just happen one day a year. Happy Mother’s Day!
Tags: mothers, mother's day, encouragement, listening, relationships, talking, support, single moms, stay at home moms
