Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Oct/87

Contributor - Babette Moerman

Title - Up With Motherhood

Topic - Motherhood

This month I would like to encourage and build up all you mothers out there.

If there is one job that is under attack and looked down upon by our society today, it is a career called "Motherhood". in the days of our parents and grand-parents, the role of motherhood held a high position. To be a mother was considered a full-time and life-long task. A mother was well respected by those in her community and she did not have to defend the fact that motherhood was her occupation.

However, in our day and age, the tables have turned. Motherhood is no longer considered to be an honorable or worthwhile occupation. It's a shame that so many mothers today feel like they are not involved in a worthwhile activity by staying at home and raising children. So many today are telling women that they have to be career-oriented and make a name for themselves by leaving the home and entering the work-force. (Let me hasten to add however that there are a minority of women today who must work in order to support their family.)

Today, many have the idea that to be a mother is just staying at home and taking the easy way out. "After all", they reason, "all they must do are a few menial tasks such as to cook the meals, change the beds, do the wash and clean the house, shop and so on. Could life get any easier than that?"

Speaking from my own experiences, I entered my graduating year of university as a pregnant women - carrying our first child. It's common knowledge that the most frequently asked question of fellow students is: "So, what are you going to do with your life now?" And I would tell them that I intended to be a full-time house-wife and mother. The startled looks, openmouthed stares and negative comments I received from many of them made me feel as though I was offering my life as a sacrifice on the inferior altar of motherhood.

I constantly had to defend myself for wanting to be a mother. Although everyone saw my obvious pregnant condition, they still posed the question: "Well what will you do after the baby is born?" based on the assumption that of course I would not simply be a mother!

To me, motherhood is one of the most challenging, worthwhile, and honorable careers on the face of God's earth. It is by no means a lazy or easy way out! A mother is required to work day-shift, night-shift, seven days a week, 52 weeks per year! Motherhood does not require one or two skills, it requires a multitude of skills. The exciting thing about motherhood is that every day holds new adventures, challenges and jobs to carry out. Just think - if you're a mother, you're not stuck with just one job, but you can be a nurse, a cook, a purchasing agent, a babysitter, a teacher, a counsellor, and much more, all under the "simple" title of mother!

In closing, even though the world around us may ridicule homemakers, making them feel as though they are not as important, this is not the way God views mothers. Being a mother is a great privilege and gift given to us by God, and even though at times it can be hard to see it as such, remember that the challenge of motherhood is an honorable one. Think of the task that lies ahead -that you can raise up your children in the ways of the Lord. The words of the following song by Steve and Annie Chapman on the album "Circle of Two" I feel are most appropriate in helping us to reflect on the privilege of motherhood.

I count it as a privilege

I count it cause for praise

To kiss my children good-night at the close of every day

For I know too soon they're up and gone

And walking out the door

And I'll never have a child to kiss Good-night anymore

It's very strange how times have changed

From the present to the past;

When did they grow so quickly

The time has flown so fast!

For it seems that only yesterday

I helped him with his shirt

Pat my baby on the back, kissed away a hurt

Tell a story, read a book

Wipe a nose or tie a shoe

They never ask me to rub their back

The way they used to do

Once it was a bother - just a troublesome kind of chore

Now I would give anything

To do it just once more.

"Mommy, bounce me on your knee!"

"Daddy, flip me in the air!"

"Throw a rubber ball to me!"

"Help me comb my hair!"

'Mommy, tickle my tummy!"

"Daddy, hold me tight!"

"Let's go outside for awhile!"

"Or make a kite to fly!"

I count it cause for praise

To kiss my children good-night at the close of every day

For I know too soon they're up and gone

And walking out the door

And I'll never have a child to kiss Good-night anymore.

Please click the "Back" button of your browser to return to previous page.