What makes a woman a mother? According to Webster, the word mother is defined as a female parent as well as to give birth to or to care for or protect like a mother. This definition sounds so simple, but I submit that being a mother is very complicated. How old does someone have to be to be a mother? Do you ever stop being a mother?
One of the privileges I have at our church is to serve in the nursery. I enjoy watching the children play, but I have noticed one thing. The little girls go for the dolls. They want me to wrap the dolls up in a blanket and they rock them. The youngest toddler is one year old. I guess they don’t have the mothering thing down pat yet, because when I bring out the crackers, they throw the baby doll down and grab a bowl. I think they are off to a good start, though. We just have to teach them the gentle part.
These little ones have never birthed a child, yet they have the desire to mother their baby dolls. Many teens babysit and do a great job. My oldest granddaughter is eighteen and works at a day care. She loves working with the children. My mom still mothers me, and I am fifty-nine. So I guess we can safely say that most women have a mothering instinct instilled from their birth, and it never goes away. I must admit, some exhibit it more than others, but it is there. A woman doesn’t have to have children to be a mother. Mother Teresa is a good example of someone who mothered others, but never had children of her own.
Just think! Moses’ mother was counting on that fact. When the princess opened the little ark and saw Moses crying, her heart was filled with compassion. What if one of the soldiers had found the ark? It would have been a completely different outcome. This princess was not stupid. She must have known what was happening. But she didn’t care that Moses’ mom was disobeying the king. She saved Moses and disobeyed the king, too. Why would she do that?
Mothers have gone to great lengths for their children. They stay up in the night nursing a fever, they watch them when they have a fever themselves, they have sleepless nights worrying about them, and they stand by them when they are in trouble. The most loyal visitors for prisoners are their moms. A mother’s love is priceless.
I also know that some women don’t deserve the title. They abuse and neglect their children. The stories I read and the testimonies I hear break my heart. I cannot imagine life without my mom.
Ok Moms! How many of you are old enough that your children are mothering you now? I have reached that age. I am not sure when it started, but my children have been doing it for a long time. They have cared for me when I was sick, they worry about me when I look tired, and they are concerned when I am hurting. I am privileged to have children that care for me so much.
As a wife, I have to watch myself because I tend to mother my husband sometimes. A little bit of that goes a long way. Sweetheart, don’t climb on the roof unless someone else is here please. Did you take your vitamins? You need to get some rest. After about the third time, he might give me a look. Don’t get me wrong, he appreciates my concern, but I have to spread it out. He doesn’t know it, but I can be subtle at looking out for him. I have spies all over the place.
My dad has cancer now, but he is a fighter. He is not going to sit back and let cancer take him. He has surprised the doctors several times already. Well, he gets a little frustrated with us sometimes. He has my mom looking over him. Now she is his wife, so she has a tightrope to walk. She is taking very good care of him, and yes, she mothers him, too. She can always tell when she has taken it too far. But my dad has a double whammy. He has a daughter and granddaughters mothering him as well. I know he is thankful for his sons and grandsons. They tend to give him more independence and not fret as openly anyway. That is why God gave us mothers and fathers.
Don’t get me wrong. Mothers need to be tough, too. How can they possibly teach their children to be tough if they aren’t tough themselves? Moses’ mother was tough. How could she possibly have put her son in a river infested with crocodiles if she wasn’t tough? Jesus’ mother was tough. How could she have possibly been the mother of Jesus without being tough? Can you imagine what she went through at His birth, but even more so at His crucifixion? What about Hannah? She gave Samuel to Eli as a young boy. How tough could that have been?
So many of our current heroes of the faith credit their mothers with their success. Yes, I am sure their mothers were tender, but they praise them for their prayers and the lessons about life and the Scriptural principles they taught them. Susanna Wesley raised a house full of children by herself. She had 19 children and two of them became preachers. Jack Hyles and Billy Graham give credit to their moms for the huge role they played in their service to the Lord, and there are countless others.
Moms are loving and kind, but they need to be tough, too. We need to teach our children that when life gets tough, we keep going. We need to teach them that we don’t always get what we want, and sometimes we get hurt. We need to teach them to forgive others and put others’ needs before their own. We need to teach them that love is doing what is best for the individual, not what is easiest.
Most of all, we need to teach them of God’s love. How do we teach them about God’s love? We let God love our children through us. The only way we can do that is if we follow the precepts in Matthew 22:37-39. We must love the Lord our God with all our hearts, and with all our soul, and with all our minds. And we must love others more than ourselves, even those that are unlovable.
May our words and our actions manifest God’s love to our children, our spouses, our neighbors, and a lost and dying world. This is a priceless gift. Our children’s futures depend up on it!
Mrs. Worthington has five children and eleven grandchildren. She serves as Principal of Pathway Christian Academy in Goldsboro.