The Power of Motherhood

Posted on 06.27.09 in Parenthood and there are

The past few weeks have been more of a journal writing season than a blog writing season. Thoughts on Motherhood have filled the pages of my journal.

I’ve written about it before, because it’s a constant battle for me to fully embrace it. To lay down my pursuit of power, influence and prestige in the working world.

Here’s an entry I wrote the other day that reminded me that, contrary to popular belief, the power, influence and prestige of Motherhood is far greater than anything the business world could offer:

AN EXCERPT FROM MY JOURNAL

A mother is the most important person in a young child’s life and she has the power to have the greatest influence.

That may sound like an overstatement. But here’s a good example.

I never knew my mother. She died when I was 9 months old. I don’t recall her voice, her scent or her touch.

Yet the mere mention of her name brings tears to the eyes of this grown 33 year old woman.

Whether present or absent, positive or negative - a Mother has deeper power and influence in the lives of her children than she could anywhere else.

Motherhood is powerful.

I want to encourage you that WHAT YOU DO TODAY MATTERS.  Love well. Give all you have. It’s worth it. It matters.

POWERFUL VIDEO JOURNAL

On Tuesday I’ll be sharing a video journal from Christy Nockels. In it she shares some wonderful wisdom she’s gleaned on this journey of motherhood. I’ve watched it at least a dozen times. I’ve been so encouraged by it and I hope you will too. When I post it, I’ll share the link so that you can share it with your readers or email to your friends.

I just don’t think most moms get enough wise counsel. This video has been like water in a dry land for me.

ALBUM GIVEAWAY

(I feel like this sounds like an un-authentic transition, but please know that I wouldn’t write about something unless I truly loved it.)

Christy’s new album has also been a breath of fresh air for me. I’ve always loved her voice. Her song Invade is one I play daily in my house as I pray for my family. The new album is called Life Light Up and all I can say is, these songs have led me to the feet of Jesus over and over these past few weeks. There’s such a sincerity of worship behind them.

All that to say, I’ll be giving away a copy of the CD each day this week.

To participate today, just leave a comment here.

You don’t have to be a mom to participate, but if you are I’d love to hear your best piece of mothering advice. If you’re not a mom, just say, “I want the cd!” ....or something like that.

Enter here.

And remember: What you do today matters. Love well.

The Comments:

Skip to comment form

I’m not a mother yet, but some of the best mothers I have known are ones that are constantly drawing close to God. You can’t go wrong!

I would love to have her new cd!

cd would be great! crossing my fingers looking forward to mothering tips even though i’m definitely far from that stage! haha

My best advice is to pray.  I ask God for His grace to cover my shortcomings.

I’ve missed your blogging...thanks for sharing a part of your journal!  That is great and oh-so-true.  Motherhood IS powerful.

My best advice is to enjoy the journey!  This is one I sometimes have to remind myself of, but it’s so important.  I think my kids will remember the fun and silly times we share together much more than the times when everything goes just right and according to plan. 

One of my most vivid early memories of my mom is the day I realized my mom was human--normal, just like me.  She was eating a Hostess Suzy-Q (I had never seen her eat something like that before!) and she had gotten the cream on the sides of her face but she didn’t know it.  I got the giggles in the worst way and she laughed right along with me and for some reason I’ve never forgotten that silly little memory.

This is a beautiful post. 

I’m not a mother yet, but I hope to be one day, and I will have to remember your words.

I would love to win that CD!

I would so love to win that CD! I am not a mother...but I do love my mommy lots!

Lisa,
What a fun memory of your mom and what a good piece of advice…

It’s hard sometimes to enjoy the insanity that is my life. I think now that my youngest is 2 and my kids can all enjoy the same basic things, it’s so much easier to really cherish each day. It was harder for me to enjoy the stage when I had a baby, a preschooler and a gradeschooler.

Hmmm...you all are making me curious how old everyone here is. I may have to do a poll sometime to satisfy my curiosity.

Jill,
Definitely! I pray that prayer all the time. Such good advice…

First, may I say what a gorgeous picture that is of you & your daughter…

The best advice I have ever been given as a mother is to pray for wisdom (James 1.5-8). I find that when I am faced with situations that confound me that God never fails to show me a way to work it out. So, I pass that along as my “advice"…

Love that pic of you and your daughter! Do you have one with you and each of your kids??

I’d LOVE a CD. I know I have one coming, but I’d love to give one to my sis.

Have a great day, Kat!!

Take the time to laugh along the way.  Sometimes in the middle of all the craziness we have to take the time to stop and just laugh. 

Love the photo!!!

I will take you at your word that you don’t have to be a Mom to participate in the cd giveaway. Not growing up in a Christian home I missed the blessing of a mother committed to Christ. I have, however, been blessed with a wife who loves the Lord and has been a mother in all respects to our 2 children. Her influence and guidence in their lives cannot be quantified. Today they are grown, have families of their own and we are blessed with 4 grandsons. Both of our children are serving God and loving Him with all their hearts. I suspect that is more due to their mother than their father. You are right about the influence of moms. Enjoy your writing and blog.

Kat-thanks for sharing that excerpt from your journal. It was a moving (and timely) reminder to me of the importance of our role as Moms. I spent all night cleaning up my sick 2 yr old, attending to every cry. This often thankless, messy job is not nearly as glamorous as the old powerful corporate job--but it is so much more meaningful.

My word of advice would be to live fully in the moment with your kids. To not make life about tasks and measuring what you get done, but about relationships and cultivating character. (Now if only I could TRULY implement my own advice!!)

Oh, and I’d love the CD!

I have always been a “mama’s girl,” but as I get older I have come to really appreciate my mom for the amazingly patient and self-sacrificing woman that she is. She would stop at nothing to ensure that me and my sisters are getting what we truly need.

As a young woman at a big university, I often feel as though I am going to fail as an “intelligent, modern” woman because all I really want to do is be a mom. I struggle with wanting to have prestige and success and a long, exciting career but also wanting to be a mom. Thanks for the encouragement today.

Ginger,
Aw...thanks!I know I’m biased, but I do think she’s simply beautiful.

Marla,
I do actually have one with each of my kids. A sweet friend of mine is a photographer and sometimes just invites us over to take pictures. She is SUCH a blessing.

Pamela,
So true. I think I have a hard time doing that as often as I should…

Don,
You get two entries into the CD giveaway just for being brave enough to be the first man to enter the contest - and for writing such sweet words about your wife.

Jo,
I’ll be praying for your little one...and you. It’s no fun when the children are sick!

Kat,

I agree that most moms don’t get enough wise counsel. 

My husband and I were talking about this over the weekend because he wanted me to ask some other homeschooling moms what we can do to make it work better, but my previous experience has shown me that most women will say, “Do it all, and do it all perfectly.”

It’s hard to find a woman who will admit to struggles, and harder still to find a woman who has wisdom to pass along in overcoming those.

I think motherhood is the MOST influential thing a woman can do.

...and I’m not just sayin’ that because I want Christy’s CD.

As always, thank you for your open-heart and willingness to share with all of us. It’s such an inspiration.

What I’ve been discovering as a new mom, is that I make mistakes (a lot of ‘em). And it’s okay. But at the same time, it’s those mistakes that help me to learn how to better love my son, and it’s such a privilege and joy to love my son.

It’s such an experience to relearn about life through the eyes of my child. I’m always so excited to see what he’s going to try next. And when he spontaneously gives me a hug or a kiss, ugh, there is just simply no better thing than the love of a child.

(And I say that with the understanding that there are a hundred + things that are “no better” when it comes to my child.)

I am 31

I am a momma to three and I struggle and embrace and pray and struggle and did I mention struggle?

It is my desire to struggle well. If it were easy {much like everything else} it wouldn’t matter as much. For Mother’s Day my m-i-l gave me a copy of Patti Reagan’s book of essays from famous women and their mothers. It has been heart wrenching, mainly because there appears to be so much dysfunction.

I have a good relationship with my own mother but there are definitely things I want to do differently. As my oldest daughter,6, begins to push my buttons in different ways I recognize some of the same issues that must have come up between me and my mother. It takes intentional, consistent prayer for me to break certain cycles and knee jerk responses.

I am hoping I continue to grow into my role as momma and I pray daily for wisdom and endurance!

Thanks Kat!

Motherhood had always been something I had created alot of ideals for but when reality hit - I wasn’t quite prepared.  Mostly because with the tension of ministry and motherhood I couldn’t quite figure out my capacity.  I think I almost saw my firstborn as an “accessory” to ministry - someone I could bring along to join me.  But with two, I found my capacity for others diminished and I had to lay down ambitions I didn’t realize I had for ministry esp. as I live in another country and my support system diminished as well.  I suppose the best think however, is that motherhood has been the most sanctifying experience of ripping out any false thoughts or ideas about my identity.  It boils down to being His child only and out of that place I care for the little ones He entrusted to me.

So what a priviledge to mentor and disciple two of the greatest kids - into His love, His kingdom here on earth and His great destiny for them.

I want the cd for my wife, whose birthday is a little more than a week from now.

I work MANY hours with other people’s kids, and while I LOVE the time I spend with them, I don’t think it would beat spending time with kids of my own.

My mom gave me after-school hugs (even in high school).  She made cookies for me to give to the band on our out-of-town football games.  She never discounted my “stressed-out” feelings.  She lay on the sofa (instead of going to bed), while I worked on the ridiculous amount of homework until 2 a.m.

She wasn’t perfect, but she was the best mom I could imagine.

You have the power, prestige, and influence in the lives of your kids.  One day I hope to leave this job behind and be a mom, myself.  And what a job that will be!!!

Don’t be afraid to ask for help/advice...moms love to give advice. And then don’t be afraid to take said advice with a grain of salt.

Be there. When you are with your child, be totally there.

music, yes please :] love that beautiful picture of you two at the top.

My mom told me the best advice she ever got was from the wife of a pastor she knew when we were all still little. She told my mom, “I want to be friends with my children their whole lives… building into these relationships is investing into life-long friendships.” She didn’t mean it in that desperate ‘I just want to be liked by my kid’ thing too many parents of tweens and teens live under, but rather to give careful thought to the relationship as a whole. As a 28 year old mother myself, I can honestly say that my Mom is one of my dearest friends. The relationship easily transitioned through all the phases of mother-daughterness because of its foundation of mutual respect, sensitivity, and trust. As a single mom of a boy toddler, I hope and pray I can live by those words as faithfully as my own mother has!

My best advise as a mother - drink it all in. Every bit. The temper tantrums, the potty training, the little laughs, the little arms wrapped so tightly around your neck you can hardly breathe. Take it all in. Because the joys of motherhood change every day as our children grow. I have a 4 year old and a 2 year old, and every time I have to clean up my living room...again!...I think about all the women who would trade places with me in a heartbeat. God has blessed me tremendously, and I thank him for the wonderful parts and the ho hum parts he gave to me for a reason. Ho hum is pretty darn good right now, and I’m just trying to take it all in.

I would absolutely L.O.V.E. Christy Nockles’ new CD, Kat!

With little ones...you can never have too many diapers and wipes.

I would love her CD. I played her songs at my wedding and now my little one gets to hear her sing scripture and praises over him.

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.

My Twitter Posts