A {Mother's} Worth

So Sunday was Mother's Day which usually is no big deal. It's a wonderful holiday set aside to celebrate my wonderful mother.

This Sunday was a little ... disheartening. The husband and I have been married for a year and a half now and we don't really have any immediate plans to have children. So I won't be celebrating Mother's Day anytime soon.

Point 1 - Our church put together little gift bags for all the mother's in the church, like they usually do, and passed them out Sunday morning. Now I wasn't expecting to get one so when I was passed by, I wasn't too disappointed. We have a few ladies in our church that don't have any children and as I sat and watched the mother's receive their gifts, my heart broke when these single, children less woman were passed over. I was saddened and angry at the same time. I didn't know who to be angry with, but I was. Church, of all places, should be full of people who know the value and worth of spiritual mothers. Most people have many of them and we truly think of them as our own mothers. Sometimes they are closer to us than our own biological mothers. I was really disappointed that we so carelessly overlooked our spiritual mothers and it didn't seem to effect anyone else.

Point 2 - Four separate people came to me in the 2 hours I was at church to wish me a Happy "Almost" Mother's Day. What the heck is that?? How can you 'almost' be a mother? Even if you're pregnant, you're already a mother. You're already mothering and nurturing that little being inside of you when you go to the doctor, eat healthy, take vitamins, and exercise. I also had people tell me that I need to hurry up and have children so I can join in on this holiday and be like everyone else. I teach to children that are a product of parents not being ready for parenthood, parents that "hurry up" in the game of parenthood. I do not want to follow in their footsteps.

All of these thoughts put together had me thinking about how much our society, including the church, puts the worth and value of a woman based on the fact if they are mothers or not. Now I know that if I brought this up to anyone in the church, they'd reassure me that, that idea is not what they were trying to present when they made those comments and left out the children less women in the body. But the heart of the matter is, it happened. The words and actions that come from your mouth spring out from the well of your heart. I am just as guilty as the next person for allowing words and actions to come out of me without the intention behind it. But this experience has certainly shown me that I need to be careful of everything that I say and do.

So, to those of you who are not mothers, in the biological sense, but still nurture, care for, love, teach, and guide young men and women, here is a verse for where our value and worth lies.

"We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light." Colossians 1:9-12