Since it is that time of year, the country's attention is turned to mothers. But sometimes, I'm not sure that is altogether fair. Not everyone who gives birth is a mother. And many women who never have and never will are. As I was thinking about the wonderful people I had the opportunity to share a lot of my life with, I thought about which of those categories they would each believe I fit into. I realized that their opinion changes with whatever they are feeling or dealing with from time to time.
Now that may seem cruel or harsh but it isn't. Every being who walks this green earth of ours grows and learns in stages. Yes, I know, we learn to crawl then walk and then run. But I don't mean those kind of stages. We are constantly thrown in and out of fluxes by the circumstances around us or the people we choose to listen to. I once heard it said that each of us are simply the culmination of the books we have read and the people we have met. And yes, those things affect us. But I for one am more than that. I am a being of my own make (with Father's help doing most of the work). Consequently, He is the only one I answer to about the job I am doing.
I have been asked to speak next Sunday in church about mothers. And between preparing my remarks and some difficulties some of my children are having, I have thought a lot about what makes a mother. Eve was named that because "she was the mother of all living." But she was named Eve before she could ever have a child. I love that example of motherhood. I know I'm going to mess up the quote, but I love something Oprah Winfrey said. The quote was along the lines of "Biology has very little to do with being a mother."
To all the mothers who have never given birth and to the men who wear two hats at home, Happy Mothers Day. You deserve it as much as anyone else does.
No comments:
Post a Comment