A Mom’s High Calling
"Her children rise up and call her blessed." Proverbs 31:28
Ever since I was a child, I wanted to be a mother. Oh how I dreamed to have 2.5 kids (I would like to know where they got that odd number from!), an awesome husband, perfect house in the perfect neighborhood, white picket fence surrounding the house, neighbors who would become my best friends. Well, life did not turn out as that, as I did have 3, yes 3, kids. Was I in for a learning lesson with my little ones, but honestly, it has been a blessing, with some hiccups along the way!
What about you? How would you describe what a mother is? I think some of us would say this, “A crazy lifestyle, full of crying kids, throwing temper tantrums in a busy grocery store, smelly diapers, defiant teens, sometimes questioning why we even had kids in the first place, but then reminded why we did: LOVE. Kids are made from love, they love us and we also love them, through the hardships, the tears, the questions, and the joyful times, which is something we tend to remember the most.
When I was pregnant with my first child, I was very ecstatic. I couldn't wait to meet her and become her mommy. I thought to myself, I will be a different mom then my mom was to me (do we not at one time think that?). After a very painful birth, my oldest daughter was born, 10 perfect fingers, 10 perfect toes. She smelled so good! I couldn't wait till we got home and I could finally put my new skills of mothering to the test. One thing I learned right away is becoming a mom is work. It is not just you and your husband, but a new personality, a new little one in your life. I have spent countless nights up with my daughter, praying she would go to sleep soon. I have cleaned up after her, scolded her, loved her, taken care of her, even when I didn't feel like doing some of those things, I did.
When I felt at my wits end, I turned to the Bible for sound advice. Ephesians 6:1, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." Also, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6. Even when she was naughty, this verse reminds me of what the Lord expects. Even so, we must train them in the Lord, meaning, teach them about God and His great love for all of His creation. For me, a mom's high calling is the greatest thing to have, for those of us that have children. We all want to attain to be good wives and moms, even in this electronic age of texting, messaging, chatting.
I want to say "good work", "well done", "thank you" to all the moms out there who chose to become a mother. No matter if you stayed at home or are a working mom, you are still a mom and there are always sacrifices to be made. You cannot put a price on raising a child. Priceless.