HAPPY Mother’s Day!
I would like to wish every mother, every mother-to-be and every future mother, a Very Happy Mother’s Day. I’ve always said that Mother’s Day is everyday not just one designated day, but I get it. It’s a time to honor all mothers. I’m convinced that being a Mother is a calling!
I call recall when I was a young first mother my heart was so glad to see my little one looking up at me and I didn’t have a clue what to do. It’s so different from playing with your baby dolls when I was a young girl and when I was tired of playing with my baby doll, I just left on the bed or put her back in my toy chest. Not so with a real baby! That real baby needed to know that I would take care of her every moment of her little life. Of course, the hospital didn’t give me instructions on how to be a “mother” all the hospital staff told me and my family upon departure, ‘you have a beautiful baby girl and take care – bye.” It was a nice compliment but that didn’t help me one bit. It seems like when I was in the hospital, my baby didn’t cry that much. Perhaps the nurses handled the crying and only brought my baby in to feed her and to hold, cuddle and kiss my little baby. Of course, I thought that was the way it was going to be. Boy, was I wrong?
When I think back of the nine months of carrying life inside of me was so precious and my husband and I would talk to our unborn baby in the womb. When she kicked and I was trying to sleep, I would tell her I love you little one and smile and rubbed my stomach. Carrying a baby was like waiting for the surprise because when I was pregnant, they didn’t reveal the sex to the parents. When the doctor told us, we had a ‘healthy baby girl’ I cried with joy. Then the doctor placed her on my chest, and I had a chance to tell her face-to-face, Mommy loves you so much. You are more beautiful than I imaged. What an exhilarating feeling to hold my baby. By next thought was I need my Mommy to help me with my baby. Of course, my mother was there to help me and to show me how to take care of my baby. She had the experience because she was the mother of six children, me being the sixth child. She helped with my other sibling’s children as well.
Three years later, we had our second daughter and I thought I was a pro, but I quickly realized that each pregnancy is different. So, my labor was longer than my first labor experience. However, the joy when I saw her beautiful face, the pain was worth it. As the scripture states in
John 16:21 (NIV) A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when the baby is born, she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.
Again, motherhood is truly a calling from God. Although my mother helped me when my babies where just a little baby, but I needed the guidance and instruction from God on how to raise my girls. Traditionally, we followed the same practices as our mothers did. You know the KISS method, meaning Keep it Same, Sweetie. But each child is different, and God wants the mother to lean on Him and learn from Him as how to raise the children. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 22:6 Train up the child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
As a mother, we will always pray for our children, even when they are older because we love them. Motherhood doesn’t stop when the child is 18 years old, but we still need to be in their lives as they navigate through life. It was a common thing I would reach out to my Mom when I couldn’t figure things out and she offered to pray for me and only if I asked her for our counsel would she offer her insights. They seemed to always bring me back to God or a reference in the Bible. My mom is with the Lord now, but I keep her funny sayings, her wisdom, and her love in my heart forever.
If you still have your mother, please honor, and love your mother. Again, the word of God gives a promise if we honor our parents in Exodus 20:12
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
Wishing every mother, a Happy Mother’s Day!
Dr. Mary Segars