The many definitions of a Mother’s Love
By Stephan Drew
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Sunday is Mothers’ Day. This weekend, across our country, we will honor all the mothers of the world. Those with us here today and those who have gone on.
There are many types of mothers. Some are aunts, cousins, sisters, friends or even neighbors. They may not have given birth to any children of their own, but the attention, love & care they show make them just like “mothers” to so many of us.
The things they taught us, the opinions we share in our talks, even the lessons we learn when we disagree, have helped us all to grow as decent human beings. The courage, sacrifice and steadfastness of those strong women has enriched all our lives and made us who we are. We should honor, remember and celebrate the LOVE they give us. The Bible says the greatest gift is LOVE. And, since Mother’s Day is fast approaching, I want to talk about a Mother’s Love. I can only speak of what I know. I believe my mother is the greatest woman who ever lived. So, I will try to explain the many things she taught me about good mothers.
What is a Mother’s Love? It is unlike anything else on Earth.
A Mother’s Love is…her arms wrapped around us, cradling us from fear and harm. It’s the very milk she gives her newborn child to keep it alive. It is the tears when her child is sick and the endless hours she stays awake to nurse her baby back to health, praying all the time that she is doing enough. It’s getting little or no sleep but greeting the morning with a tired smile, knowing that her efforts throughout the night helped ease the suffering of her child.
A Mother’s Love is…the fear that, on that first day of school, something might go wrong and her child will be nervous, afraid or hurt in some way. It is teaching her children right from wrong, praising the good, correcting the bad and praying all the time. It’s staying up all night baking cupcakes because she didn’t find out her child needed them for class the next morning until bedtime the night before.
A Mother’s Love is…the hopes & prayers the first time their child goes swimming, hunting, begins playing sports or even just spending that first night away from home. It is knowing that even though she taught her child everything she could, it is still a big, busy, and sometimes wicked world out there and anything could happen.
A Mother’s Love is…the light on in the window when you come home too late at night…and the embarrassing talk that comes with it. The scolding, the apologies, the tears, hugs & kisses, the “I love you’s” and then “off to bed”, knowing all the time that there will be other times like this.
A Mother’s Love is…having to step back just a bit when her child starts dating or marries, knowing they need much more advice now and wanting so desperately to give it. But, a mother knows that the deepest lessons of the heart cannot be taught by others. They must be learned for one’s self. And, Mom is praying all the time that her child learns those lessons well without getting hurt too badly in the process.
A Mother’s Love is…being afraid and also courageous, tender but also strong, sorrowful for some things and yet joyful at the same time for others. It is being proud of her children’s successes at all times while still feeling a little ashamed of their failures. A mother often blames herself when her children fail, always feeling that there was something more SHE could or should have done.
A Mother’s Love is…realizing that her chief job, her main purpose in life is to do everything she can & use everything she has or can get, to make sure her child will be alright. She helps them, guides them, teaches & corrects them, and spends every single moment of her life working towards making sure her children are learning as they should, growing as they should, behaving properly and achieving all they can so that they will be able to live good lives and be okay… while she’s here and even after she’s gone. It’s that feeling that this is NOT a “job”, it’s her goal in life, and she approaches it that way every minute of every hour, each and every day. Mothers don’t get breaks. They’re mothers 24/7 for the rest of their lives. When everyone else in the house is sick, they’re allowed to stay in bed and Mom takes care of them. When Mom is sick, she gets up, cooks, cleans and still takes care of her family. Mothers don’t usually get breaks, vacations or “days off”.
A Mother is a confidante, teacher, therapist, cook, maid, taskmaster & disciplinarian, nurse, financial adviser (& sometimes bank), chauffeur, seamstress, laundress, gardener, decorator/designer, sometimes even priest & confessor. For all these tasks and duties, she is UNPAID. She is the lowest paid skilled worker on the face of the earth. But, most of all, she is and will always be the most loving, most loyal and very best FRIEND you will ever have in this world.
A Mother’s Love is…the greatest human power on the planet and we should thank God every single day for being blessed with it in our lives. Happy Mothers’ Day, everyone! I hope you all love your mothers just as much as I love mine.
