Call It Motherhood
Dave Faust
Call It Motherhood
Publication: The Lookout
Date: May 10, 1998
Column: From the Editor's Desk
Category: Motherhood
She can feel a slight fever by gently touching her hand on a forehead. With a glance, she can tell when her child is afraid or holding back laughter. She understands why her teenage son welcomes her hug in private, but not in front of her friends. Intuitively she knows when to enclose an encouraging note with her daughter's school lunch. She grants her grown children freedom, while continuing to support them with her love.
Some call that sensitivity. Others call it motherhood.
She prays for the little one growing in her womb—for the child to be saved, to serve the Lord, to find a godly spouse. She reads her toddler Bible stories at bedtime, and answers questions that range from, "Why did Jesus have to die?" to "What do lightning bugs do during the day?" She takes her child to Sunday school and helps out in the church nursery, changing diapers for other people's crying kids. Her role models are Lois and Eunice, whose sincere faith gave Timothy a strong foundation in God's Word. She prays for her children through their rocky teen years, and after they're grown she still lifts them before the throne of God.
Some call that spirituality. Others call it motherhood.
She's familiar with tears. She cried for joy when her baby was born, and many times after that: when her son stepped onto the bus for his first day of school, when her daughter stepped to the front of the church for baptism, when her proud Little Leaguer crumbled to the ground hit by a pitch, when her nervous little actor forgot her lines in the school play. Her eyes still well up with tears when she looks at the treasure box of mementos stashed in the attic, or glimpses her son's well-worn ball glove in the garage, or fastens her grandchild's crayon creation to the refrigerator with a magnet and notices how much the art resembles the pictures her own child used to draw.
Some call that sentimentality. Others call it motherhood.
Childbirth hurt, but she doesn't regret it. Seldom does anyone applaud her efforts, but she doesn't demand it. Some forget to appreciate her, but she's learned not to expect it. She bears others' burdens while carrying many of her own. Perhaps her own mom was not a good role model. Or maybe she's a single parent, carrying the load alone. But she perseveres, remembering that God is with her.
Some call that courage. Others call it motherhood.
She will never quit loving her children. She will never live up to her own highest expectations of herself. She will never gain the full recognition she deserves. Yet she will never lose the deep awareness that nurturing children is somehow very close to the heart of God—so she never gives up. She's not perfect, but she tries to stay close to the God who is.
Some call that commitment. Others call it motherhood.
She may not gain recognition as a Super Mom—in fact, she may not be a mom at all—but never underestimate the influence of a Christian woman who simply trusts the Lord and does her best. She deserves the respect of a grateful family, church, and nation who rise up and call her blessed.
Wouldn't it be good to see the kind of honor women receive on Mother's Day, and call it "normal"?
This column first appeared in The Lookout on May 10, 1998.
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