MOTHER / MOTHERING / MOTHERHOOD
"A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.." ~ John 16:21
Mothers play one of the most important roles in the world. Aside of top positions (i.e. President, Queen, Religious Leaders, etc.) or handling the nations's security, motherhood is also a job of individuals that help shape the world. Some people may find this a little dramatic, but think about it! God blesses us with these little beings that are completely dependent on us for all of their needs; including our unconditional love. The quality of life that we provide our children contributes, not only to their well-being but also, to their function in family, community, nation, world. This is the unspoken truth that mothers know when we read or hear someone say "Being a mother is one of the most important jobs in the world" or describe it as the "underpaid job of motherhood". There is no comparison in life. Nothing can describe the rewards and challenges of being a mother (single parent or married parent); especially when you have children early in life (teen moms), have unexpected pregnancies (single moms) and / or have children much later in age (pregnant grandparents).
OK, enough of the text book "blah blah blah" introduction to Motherhood ...
Hello, my name is Lea. I am the mother of 3 incredible sons and wife to one extremely loving husband. I am a Christian (reborn and baptized). I had my 1st child at 21 years old. At that time, I was a poor, uneducated, single mother that loved my little boy to death and did the best that I could do to "grow up" with him. I was pregnant with my second son at 25 years old. It was at this time that my 1st son "tricked" me into salvation by insisting that we going to the Baptist church - associated with the private school that I sent him to by scholarship. This was where I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior as an adult. I later asked him if this was what he expected when he led me to church that Sunday. He smiled and said that he had accepted Jesus during a school church service. I thank God that he did or I would have never gotten through the fact that my son's father cheated on me and had another baby at the same time that I had my 2nd son. I was not living my life as I should at that time, therefore this prompted the changing point in my life, though it took many - many - many - many - many years. I was baptized and loved the Lord as a child, but years of neglect, abuse and life circumstances made it harder to develop the obedience and closeness to God once I became an adult. I was baptized again at 30 years old and this is when my long salvation journey began.
OK, YOU HAVE A CHOICE AT THIS POINT, YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT ME BY READING THIS PAGE (I HOPE THAT YOU DO) OR CHECK OUT MY BLOGGER PROFILE FOR THE CLIFF NOTES ... I WILL BE YOUR FRIEND EITHER WAY :)
Now that I am approaching 40 years old and have had my 3rd child in my late 30s, I think that having my 1st son at 21 years old was too young for me. On the contrary, I have to admit that some mornings I woke up, so beat up from my 3rd son, that I started to think that my getting pregnant over 35 and having a baby in my late 30s, might have been pushing it a bit for someone that had already had two children so many years before. My older two boys were 17 and 11 when I gave birth to my 3rd son, therefore it was like starting over in life. The advantage was that I have been working from home for years - WAHM / SAHM / CWAHM / CSAHM or however it is called these days - therefore I had the lifestyle and experiences that made motherhood even more rewarding rather than all of the challenges that I had with my older children. Regardless, there have been challenges with each child and I am a testimony of how God really does see us through all circumstances in life. I could write a few books - that you wouldn't want to put down - as witness of God's grace and love during the different stages of my life. I would love to do this one day!
Is motherhood the most important job in the world?
My initial reaction to the quotes: "Being a mother is one of the most important jobs in the world" and the "underpaid job of motherhood", is to think "how on earth could someone put a dollar amount on mothering a child". In fact, being a mother is a job that comes with so many hats that one could lose their mind. If anyone would have told me that - despite my best efforts - getting up at night for months upon months would feel like 'Night of the Living Dead" OR that raising a child with ADHD, ODD and Autism Spectrum issues would make me turn away from private school systems OR that the teen years would feel like I was two steps out of the Betty Ford Clinic ... I would have become a nun :) :) :)
LOL, I am just kidding about that last statement :)
I WOULD HAVE DONE IT AGAIN ... In fact, I couldn't see my life without being a mother, but I do see that I could have been better prepared for the life changes that occur once you have children (education, finances, spirituality, etc). This is part of why I am writing this blog. Mother Baby Child is a blog to share my experiences in raising children at different ages (infant, tween and teen), as well as other social, emotional, spiritual, pregnancy and parenting information that I think is helpful to other moms and "mothers to be".
I wanted to be a mother. Just as with any other job that I have had, my goal was to give it my all and do the best that I could do according to God.
So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:9-10
I hope that you have gladly assumed this vital role of motherhood, too!
In Motherly Love,
Mother Baby Child
