The Challenges of Motherhood

Originally published in Pulpit Helps - May 1988

Blessed is the mother…
Who can hold on to her children while letting them go;
Who puts a tranquil home ahead of an immaculate house;
Who knows a kind act will be remembered longer than an easy word;
Who really believes that prayer changes things;
Whose faith in eternity sweetens the present;
Whose Bible never needs dusting;
Whose sense of humor is alive and well.
                                                                                           Selected

Motherhood—who can describe the blessings, the joys, and the challenges that motherhood holds? The ecstasy of a healthy newborn placed in her reaching arms; the urgent wonder in a child’s voice as he rushes in to say, “Mama, come see the pretty sunset!”; the utter innocence of that childish face in peaceful slumber; sharing the excitement of the long-awaited first day of school; and following with misty eyes as the school bus door closes one world and opens another. Then a mother reflects, “Have I prepared my child to meet the daily challenges awaiting him?”

The years pass swiftly, and the challenges of motherhood grow. This is not to say that the blessings diminish. Wiling hands that want to plant the seeds in the garden row just like Mama does, or the childish answer, “Mama, I didn’t do it because you told me not to”—such little incidents give the mother courage. In turn, a timely compliment when a child’s willingness to work is lagging serves as a tonic.

Truly the source of most joy to a mother’s heart is when her child responds to the Heavenly Shepherd’s calling. Yet, throughout the growing-up years, mothers face the challenge of providing a listening ear and sometimes a soft shoulder. At the dawning of each day, her prayer ascends for wisdom. She shares the frustrations of a difficult day in school; the injustice of being misunderstood; or how to help her child face, in a godly way, the demands of peer pressure. Some days the fussing and teasing between brothers and sisters causes her to cry out to God to help her teach her children kindness and unselfishness. She ponders the goal of establishing in her child the sense of purpose and principle that will give him the courage to stand like Daniel.

The law of sowing and reaping affects all aspects of life, and how true that is of motherhood. How vastly far-reaching are the effects of the attitudes of a mother—the happiness of our homes is at stake, and even our eternal destiny. Ezekiel 16:44 says, “…As is the mother, so is her daughter.”

If the mother sows a hurried, preoccupied atmosphere in the kitchen, will she not reap a distant relationship with her daughter? And if she allows herself to sow permissiveness, will she not reap a teenager without conviction, one who has frustrations and lack of direction? The little seeds of pride embed themselves so subtly. What will the little dress with the “just right” look produce in fruit sixteen years later? Will the reaping be vanity and bending to peer pressure? Then there are the persistent seeds of harshness and impatience. Could the reaping be found in calloused children with an insensitivity to the misfortune around them?

May we sow seeds of godliness, prayerfulness, submission, kindness, respect—and the list goes on. We all admire seeing a happy family cheerfully working, singing, and enjoying each other together. They are interested in others and give of their time unselfishly. These children, in turn, create happy homes, and the church and the community reap an abundance of blessings. These blessings did not come of themselves without facing up to the challenge.

Mrs. Keith Nightingale