The High Calling of Motherhood

It is Mother’s Day today.  Being a mother, having a mother, and knowing many other mothers makes this day pretty special.  It is fun to take a moment to look back and realize the grand blessing of motherhood!  I called my mother this morning and it was sure good to hear her voice over the telephone.  There is just something so comforting as the sound of your mother’s voice. 

I woke up this morning just like any other morning, at the crack of dawn to spend a few hours of work and reflection before the hustle and bustle of preparing breakfast and getting ready for church.  I heard a loud noise from the window, it was a mother goat stuck in the fence just desperately pleading for her life all the while her baby was bouncing around and crying back to her, helplessly.

That is just how I felt this morning when I heard my mother crying on the phone because she misses our family so very much.  I just felt helpless.  She is like that mamma goat who was stuck away from her baby.  I am my mama’s baby, too!  I was able to free the goat after many attempts and her nearly strangling herself.  Wish it were that easy to comfort my mom.

We went to church this morning and the preacher gave out flowers to certain mothers.  Because my friend Beth wasn’t at church with her 10 children, I won the beautiful flowers for having the most children!  All I wanted was to turn around and give those pretty flowers to my mom.  I will plant them in my new kitchen garden in honor of her!

The preacher had some really great things to share on motherhood and about a woman named Hannah.  I would like to take the time to share some of the key points to his message that really touched my heart…

Those are the words of a mother looking into the eyes of her little boy with joy and thankfulness.  I am interested in this profound statement recorded so long ago, because it says a lot about where our priorities as mother’s should be.  It is a picture of complete gratitude and purpose!

This is a woman that understood the blessing.  She was barren and she looked at this opportunity of being a mother as a great gift.  She had everything else she could want, but there was a longing in her heart to hold a baby in her arms.  When little Samuel was born, I imagine he was greeted with a thousand kisses upon his little head.  Having that baby boy was like a burst of springtime in her heart.

There are four points that we can learn from this passage:

1. Privilege
2. Prayer
3. Wisdom
4. Practice

1. Privilege: something regarded as a rare opportunity and bringing particular pleasure.
She was thankful for the privilege of motherhood.  It was her rare opportunity.

Many Mothers are successful at a great many things.  They have skills and talents and all kinds of successes in life.  BUT nothing surpasses the success of MOTHERHOOD.  That is the crown of life to a mother’s heart.  There is nothing more sacred, nothing more special, nothing as honoring as being a mom!

Hannah wanted to be a mom.  She knew she could have an impact on society and on the world through her influence with raising her child.  She took it seriously as a purpose from God.

2. Prayer: a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God; an earnest hope.
“For this child I prayed…and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him”

Hannah prayed for her son.  The LORD heard her prayer and blessed her.  Have you prayed for your child?  What would this world be like if all the mothers out there would be praying for their children!  God pity the child that comes into this world who is not prayed for.  We need to become men and women of prayer!

We are doing good things today because of the influence of our mothers.  I know that I can say that I am.  I think of my mom every time I cook for my family.  I learned to put others first by her sacrificial example.  When I hold my children after they get hurt, I know I got that nursing impulse right from my mother!  She was always there when I needed her the most!

3. Wisdom:  the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise.
“Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord.”

She was smart enough to recognize that God had a special plan for her son’s life.

What courage it takes for us as mothers to say, “LORD, they are yours!”  Why are we afraid to do this?
We are afraid because we would not want our kids to move half way across the world.  We would fear for their well being—besides, we would miss them!

Better they are across the earth serving the LORD and others than right next door just living for themselves.  That puts it into perspective.

4. Practice: repeated exercise in or performance of an activity or skill so as to acquire or maintain proficiency in it.
Hannah prayed, poured, taught, and loved her boy.  She made it her purpose to be a good example of faith.

How many times have we destroyed the faith in our little ones?  I know I have told a tall tale or two.  I remember telling Junior that there were alligators in the pond because I wanted him to stay away.  It did not work because he would tell me how he would beat the alligator with his bare hands if he tried to bite him.  The sad part is that he believed me.

God created children with a heart that trusts and believes.  It comes so naturally to them.  “But Jesus said, ‘Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.'” Matthew 19:14  Why a child?  Why does Jesus tell us to become like a child?  It is because they trust and believe.  When a child gets older, it gets harder for them to believe because that trust may have been broken.

Maybe they were promised a treat or a special visit and we as parents let them down.  You let the child down enough, they begin to get wise and trust you less and less.  They say, “oh, I see how the world works!”

We are the ones that teach them to stop believing or trusting.  Like when I told Junior about the aligator, soon he found out that there was not an alligator in the pond and that I made it up.  We teach them to lose faith!

Every child is born with the potential to be a follower of Christ and have great faith.  It takes practice!  The practice comes with a parent practicing love, practicing faith, praying diligently, teaching good things from God’s word.  The time is now to start practicing what you preach!  Kids are not fooled.

It is now or NEVER!  If you want your child to be patient, show patience!  If you want them to be kind, you need to be kind. If you would like them to believe, never give them a reason to doubt you.  Always keep your word!

At one time, Hannah rocked within the bend of her arm a prophet of God!  She dedicated him to God from the beginning of his life.

I leave you with this…”What shall it prophet a woman if she gains the whole world yet loses the heart of her daughter?”  There is nothing more important than to invest purpose, wisdom, prayer, and example into the hearts of your children.

Take time today to thank you mother for all that she did to make you who you are today.  No one’s mother is perfect but every mother has a love for their child that is inexplicable and as sure as the sun shines.

I am thankful for my mother today and also to her mother for raising her the way she did.  I am also thankful to be a mother today.  There is no higher calling than that of being someone’s mother!
Happy Mothers day to all of you!