When I wasn't a mother I had my opinions just like everyone else (who never raised children,) they told me I didn't know what I was talking about, but then my turn came and oh how enlightened I had become!
Being a mother of four, I can tell you it is no walk in the park! It is easy to write a book, make a video and do other things to encourage others, but when you live motherhood each and every day (without daycare or family) it is grueling!
People will tell you, "I understand." No you don't. You really can't comprehend the hormonal changes, the strong willed, hypersensitive, active group I got! However, to help some understand just how challenging motherhood can be, I suggest you offer your time, money and any other assistance you can give when you see a mother has her back up against the wall! I recall a few scenes as I write where strangers helped me open doors for my children seated in a double stroller, another scene where someone dropped money in my hand and told me to buy the children something with it, and plenty of scenes where people prayed for me! These are blessings in disguise when you least expect it!
Mothers don't just scream just to be screaming about issues in the household, over the phone, via email, or at the workplace, they have real aches inside their minds, bodies and spirits! Something or someone on the outside contributed to her woes, no matter how much we reason by saying, "She should have, could have..." She is crying for various reasons some that are easily understood and others more challenging. How dare anyone assume that because she cooks, cleans, cares for the baby, runs errands and does other duties that she is happy? Just because someone goes to work everyday, doesn't make them content? There are many women that no matter what you buy or do for them, it isn't going to resolve the issues that she repeatedly her family to do.
The best Mother's Day is the one that she doesn't have to worry over the following: getting bills paid, a table being a mess, the floor being sticky, closets not being organized, looking for someone to watch her children, relatives' criticisms, a partner's weak reactions to temptations, childrens' temper tantrums, and friends' petty attitudes about her not calling them. These are just some of the many examples of the worries she rather not have! Mothers everywhere are looking for the gifts that don't come in small or large packages, but the ones that come from the heart! So if she turns up her nose about the gift you gave her or act ungrateful, it is because she is expecting more from you, the kind of things that can't be wrapped up in a bow!
If she is a spiritual mother, she is looking for the gifts that only God can fulfill, the ones that He uses people to create. The kind of gifts that result from an understanding from those who she loves. Those are the real gifts! Those are the true gifts!
May God bless you and yours this Mother's Day,
Nicholl McGuire
Happy New Year. I seldom make New Year’s resolutions anymore (no more than
once a year!) but this year I made one and I’m determined to follow
through. It’...
