Calling All Mothers!
Need I remind you? Yes, it is Mother’s Day again. I think it’s a wonderful opportunity to focus on mothers and all they have brought to our lives, at least this one day of the year. I dare say most of us spend many days of the year remembering those who brought us into the world and set our feet on the path we currently walk. I realize we grow up, we make our own decisions and set our plans and goals. However, the direction those plans take us has an awful lot to do with the direction our parents and mothers in particular have set us on.
Today I wish to pay tribute to the generations that have gone before, as well as those who will carry the torch forward and all of us in between.
My mother bore and raised a large family of which I am the youngest. She did it all with very little in the way of convenience or financial resources. I believe I mentioned in an earlier blog entry how she was, in my eyes, one of the worlds first and greatest recyclers. One thing that stands out to me is her ability to look at a picture of a dress in a catalogue and make her own pattern, sew the dress and make a matching hat ( just like the queen )! She was always well dressed. She taught me all I know about homemaking, baking, and cooking. Our home wasn't always spotless but then one of her favourite sayings was ‘a home should be clean enough to be healthy and messy enough to be happy’.
I’ve tried to live by that rule but I fear, many times may have gotten a little too concerned about the ‘clean’ part!
I was blessed with a wonderful mother-in-law, who raised a great young man! I could never understand all the mother-in-law jokes floating around since I had such a sweet lady in my life, always accepting and generous in every way. Her life is best expressed in the phrase she loved to quote ‘Praise the Lord anyway’. More than words, she lived her life in that attitude!
Now I have another mother-in-law that I have nevermet.She also had a hand in raising a wonderful man and through the stories I’ve been told I have come to wish I could have met her in this life.
With all these stellar examples who have walked the ‘motherhood’ path before me I have gained a few insights into this blessed world of ‘mom’. I hope I have learned a little about how to love my children in the ways that assure them they are loved. If I love and they don’t feel loved, I have loved in vain. I have learned that love doesn’t always say ‘yes’. Sometimes the healthiest way is to say ‘no’ and show acceptance and comfort until acceptance has taken root in them. I have learned that it’s ok to lighten up and laugh with my kids and now my grandkids. I’m convinced nothing brings them more joy than to see how they can put a smile on mom or grandma’s face!
Even as a young girl all I wanted to be when I grew up was a wife and mother. Looking back now I can hardly believe how blessed I have been to be and do that. I feel empowered to look back and see how those before me built a foundation from where I could raise my own family; all I learned from them and tried to teach forward and now see my children following many of the same patterns, as well as establishing some of their own. This is good and it is healthy.
Today I have eight amazing daughters and daughters-in-law. I love to see how they relate to their offspring; each one different from the other in detail, but drawing from the same well of ethics and values. How refreshing to see how they take a moment to calmly teach their little ones (and those not so little) of the realities of life, at the same time offering understanding and direction. I take note as to how age-appropriate boundaries are applied, and then as the children grow the parameters are spread further afield granting more freedom. It takes a little insight to see that as children begin to grow up their self esteem is bolstered when they can prove responsibility. I stand with pride as I observe, not because I did anything. No, the pride is solely placed in the younger generation, for the decisions and choices they are making in the face of a society that challenges their values at every turn.
Because these awesome women are taking their responsibility seriously and raising young ones who will in turn become the next generation of parents, I can look forward with great anticipation to the day when I will see them parenting their own. Right now, my hands are off for the most part and hopefully my mouth shut! I promise you, though, that my heart is open and as needs arise they are lifted in prayer to the One who can make the REAL difference!
My hat goes off to every mother out there, whether you are just starting out, or are at a place where you are already battle weary and trying to guide your kids through the turbulent teens. To you I say make great memories so that you have something to anchor to on those ‘not so good’ days.
If you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, stay close to Him and spend time in His word, seeking His wisdom and committing your loved ones to His care.
God’s Word says children are a gift from Him! May God bless you as you take care of that gift!
Today I wish to pay tribute to the generations that have gone before, as well as those who will carry the torch forward and all of us in between.
My mother bore and raised a large family of which I am the youngest. She did it all with very little in the way of convenience or financial resources. I believe I mentioned in an earlier blog entry how she was, in my eyes, one of the worlds first and greatest recyclers. One thing that stands out to me is her ability to look at a picture of a dress in a catalogue and make her own pattern, sew the dress and make a matching hat ( just like the queen )! She was always well dressed. She taught me all I know about homemaking, baking, and cooking. Our home wasn't always spotless but then one of her favourite sayings was ‘a home should be clean enough to be healthy and messy enough to be happy’.
I’ve tried to live by that rule but I fear, many times may have gotten a little too concerned about the ‘clean’ part!
I was blessed with a wonderful mother-in-law, who raised a great young man! I could never understand all the mother-in-law jokes floating around since I had such a sweet lady in my life, always accepting and generous in every way. Her life is best expressed in the phrase she loved to quote ‘Praise the Lord anyway’. More than words, she lived her life in that attitude!
Now I have another mother-in-law that I have nevermet.She also had a hand in raising a wonderful man and through the stories I’ve been told I have come to wish I could have met her in this life.
With all these stellar examples who have walked the ‘motherhood’ path before me I have gained a few insights into this blessed world of ‘mom’. I hope I have learned a little about how to love my children in the ways that assure them they are loved. If I love and they don’t feel loved, I have loved in vain. I have learned that love doesn’t always say ‘yes’. Sometimes the healthiest way is to say ‘no’ and show acceptance and comfort until acceptance has taken root in them. I have learned that it’s ok to lighten up and laugh with my kids and now my grandkids. I’m convinced nothing brings them more joy than to see how they can put a smile on mom or grandma’s face!
Even as a young girl all I wanted to be when I grew up was a wife and mother. Looking back now I can hardly believe how blessed I have been to be and do that. I feel empowered to look back and see how those before me built a foundation from where I could raise my own family; all I learned from them and tried to teach forward and now see my children following many of the same patterns, as well as establishing some of their own. This is good and it is healthy.
Today I have eight amazing daughters and daughters-in-law. I love to see how they relate to their offspring; each one different from the other in detail, but drawing from the same well of ethics and values. How refreshing to see how they take a moment to calmly teach their little ones (and those not so little) of the realities of life, at the same time offering understanding and direction. I take note as to how age-appropriate boundaries are applied, and then as the children grow the parameters are spread further afield granting more freedom. It takes a little insight to see that as children begin to grow up their self esteem is bolstered when they can prove responsibility. I stand with pride as I observe, not because I did anything. No, the pride is solely placed in the younger generation, for the decisions and choices they are making in the face of a society that challenges their values at every turn.
Because these awesome women are taking their responsibility seriously and raising young ones who will in turn become the next generation of parents, I can look forward with great anticipation to the day when I will see them parenting their own. Right now, my hands are off for the most part and hopefully my mouth shut! I promise you, though, that my heart is open and as needs arise they are lifted in prayer to the One who can make the REAL difference!
My hat goes off to every mother out there, whether you are just starting out, or are at a place where you are already battle weary and trying to guide your kids through the turbulent teens. To you I say make great memories so that you have something to anchor to on those ‘not so good’ days.
If you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, stay close to Him and spend time in His word, seeking His wisdom and committing your loved ones to His care.
God’s Word says children are a gift from Him! May God bless you as you take care of that gift!
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