Do you ever feel like you take who you are for granted? I have. There are parts of me that I didn't fully embrace until recently. Particularly that of being a woman and a mother. I used to be very career minded. Those who know me now probably would not have guessed it. I didn't appreciate my role as a mother completely until I was kind of forced into it. Forced meaning it was unexpected. If you have ever done something unwillingly, you probably do it without your heart being in the right place. Well, being a full-time mother was definitely one of those things that I had to work hard at daily because I struggled with feeling like just a mom. It is no surprise to any mother out there, being a mother is a thankless job. You work very long sometimes arduous hours only to repeat the cycle again the next day. It was in my struggle that I hit a breaking point where I realized something had to change. I loved my children, always have, but I needed to fill my sacred duty as a mother with all my heart. I was saddened feeling that bearing only the title of mother made me less accomplished. The change of heart began with accepting I wasn't living up to the full measure of my role because I didn't have relationships with my kids. There was no real friendship or open communication between us, and that was scary to me. This was not what I wanted my children to remember of me.
I am not one to take baby-steps when undertaking something new. I decided to homeschool my kids. Crazy you may say, but it proved to be the best thing our family has ever done. We struggled at first, but we learned to be patient through the process of figuring out everything together. That year taught me the value of children on a level that I don't believe many parents comprehend. Parenting and teaching was not a part-time responsibility. I did not allow myself the freedom of sending my kids to a public institution for a large part of the day only to be involved with them for the evenings and weekends, and the occasional holiday. I was all in. Now, I don't want to come across as judgmental for parents who send kids to school. I share this because this is how I learned to value my role as a mother.
In The Family: A Proclamation to the World, we read:
"Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for eachother and their children. 'Children are an heritage of the Lord' (Psalm 127:3) Parents have the sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives--mother and fathers--will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations...By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children."
Being a mother is a sacred duty and it is divinely designed. Sacred means connected with God, as defined in the dictionary. Similar words used alternatively to sacred are holy, hallowed, blessed. How can such a role be anything but supreme and glorious? Yes, we can aspire to be doctors, engineers, CEOs, and many other titles that come with the applause of the world, but mother is first and foremost our sacred and divine role to any other pursuit.
The other morning, my children came downstairs one by one. My son smiled as I greeted him and said good morning. He told me that he knew it was me because he heard music and knew I was preparing breakfast. My eldest daughter said something similar after making her way down. Children definitely know the value of a mother. She is that sweet scent in the air, that warm smile, that comforting touch, that gentle song. She fills the home with a light that can only come from her connection with God.
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