Thoughts on Mothers...

"We are losing what women have traditionally contributed to cultural stability... one woman's recent essay, 'Despising Our Mothers, Despising Ourselves,' reported that despite many victories for women since the 1960s, the self-respect of American women is at an all time low. Why? Because we've experienced not just a revolt against men's oppression but also a revolt against women: 'Heroic women who dedicated their lives to children--as mothers, teachers, nurses, social workers--have been made to feel stupid and second rate because they took seriously the Judeao-Christian precept that it was better to do for others than for oneself.' Devaluing motherhood devalues 'the primary work of most women throughout history, ' which tells women they 'aren't worth serious consideration.'" -Bruce C. Hafen
Is it then so unbelievable that many women do not understand their worth as mothers, when they are constantly being told they are somehow not fulfilled or challenged if they are "just a mom"? Is it hard to understand why we, as women feel we need to make excuses for our choice to be a mother? It is time we turned a deaf ear to the shouts of the world and began to listen to the calm voice of the Lord and His leaders. It is time we understood what it means to be a mother.
Sheri Dew said the following, "Motherhood is not what was left over after our Father blessed His sons with priesthood ordination. It was the most ennobling endowment He could give his daughters, a sacred trust that gave women an unparalleled role in helping His children keep their second estate...There can be no question about how our Father feels about His daughters, whom he has charged with the principal care of His children."
In essence, what we now know is that our Father in Heaven trusts us with one of the most challenging, fulfilling, and exciting of calls. He is allowing, asking, and relying on us to help Him bring his children home.
To be entrusted with the moral, ethical, and divine education of a child of God. Can there be anything more rewarding?
Oprah Winfrey made the following statement, "I believe the choice to become a mother is the choice to become one of the greatest spiritual teachers there is. To create an environment that's stimulating and nurturing, to pass on a sense of responsibility to another human being, to raise a child who understands that he or she is created from good and is capable of anything-- I know for sure that few callings are more honorable. To play down mothering as small is to crack the very foundation on which greatness stands.
The world can only value mothering to the extent that women everywhere stand and declare that it must be so. In our hands we hold the power to transform the perception of motherhood... we should no longer allow a mother to be defined as 'just a mom.' It is on her back that great nations are built."

Long post I know, but worth the read, I think.
-je