The L.I.F.E. of Mothers
Proverbs 31:10-31 (AMP)
Intro – Read Article from NY Times
1. Laborious (read vs. 13-17; 27)
Defined: requiring long, hard work; perseverance
From the beginning – when a mother has a child – she goes into what is called LABOR
This labor is just the beginning – it is painful, it is long, and yet mothers endure it for joy
And if once wasn’t enough – they do it several more times – have several more children – that will require her to work even harder
The hardest working person on this planet is a mother – her work is never done
Cooking, cleaning, clothing, caring for her children – endless dishes – endless laundry
Endless dirty floors, endless toys to pick-up, endless diapers, giving baths, endless cleaning up of spills and messes
Wiping noses, and bottoms and tears
Working in the home and many have to work and labor outside the home
Mothers are laborious – they persevere – they endure – their work is never-ending
Just as we have read in our text this morning
QUOTE: “once you sign on to be a mother, that’s the only shift they offer”
And when they do finally go to bed and sleep for 5-6 hours – they get up and it starts over again.
Salary.com has calculated that the annual salary for Mothers would be roughly $170K a year – equated to $14K a month - $3.2K a week - $82 per hour for a 40 hour work week
But we know Mothers are not on a 40 hour a week job – so in recalculating by the standard of 24 hours a day – her hourly salary would be $19 an hour
(cartoon of hired)
And the amazing thing is they do it for the salary of loving their children – none of us would be here today without our MOTHER’S.
Trans: The second letter for LIFE is “I” which stands for mothers being…
2. Indestructible (read vs. 18)
Defined: very durable; unable to be destroyed
Mothers truly do seem to be indestructible – at least that’s the way we think about them
In my house – mom gets tired – whirring sound – as if she reboots – and goes on
Moms don’t get sick days – they don’t get to call in sick – my wife had walking pneumonia, bronchitis, and maybe strep – running a 101 fever at times
She just kept going – the energizer bunny can’t hold a candle to mothers
Mothers, we all know, don’t need much sleep either – or so we think because that’s what we expect of them
Definition of MOMBIE – “A sleep deprived supermom who feeds on caffeine and chocolate, and survives on sticky kisses and messy smiles and who sleep with one eye open at all times.”
Let’s face it – Dad gets sniffles and he’s down for the count – but not Mom – she is as tough as a green beret and yet as gentle as soft kiss that heals all booboos.
This cartoon explains how she does it all (super cape found)
Trans: The third letter for LIFE is “F” which stands for mothers being…
3. Forgiving (Read vs. 12, 20)
Defined: the ability to overlook shortcomings - merciful
Mothers are some of the most forgiving people on earth
It truly is the closest to God’s forgiveness
It has been said “the heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness”
Quote from Jessica Lange “The natural state of motherhood is unselfishness. When you become a mother, you are no longer the center of your own universe. You relinquish that position to your children”
I don’t know how many times we have broken our mother’s heart – disappointed her – failed to appreciate her – and she always forgives us.
Mothers are the models of what forgiveness looks like – she easily forgives her children – but LOOK OUT if you wrong one of her children! (Expound)
Just as Romans 8 says that nothing can separate us from the love of God so too, is a mother’s love inseparable from her children
Just as the Psalmist says God remembers our sins as far as the east is from the west – a mother’s forgiveness follows the same path
And mothers are not real for sure if they are doing a very good job at times because they rarely get thanked or appreciated. (Watch this clip to illustrate)
Trans: The last letter for LIFE is “E” which stands for mothers being an…
4. Encyclopedia (Read vs 26)
Defined: A comprehensive reference work containing articles on a wide range of subjects
You moms know exactly what I’m talking about right here
Your children expect that you have all the knowledge in the world – about every subject under the sun (Can I get a witness?)
Mothers are a great wealth of knowledge and they impart that knowledge on a daily basis on multiple levels
Just think about all that Moms teach to their children
- tying shoes, putting on clothes, manners in public, grooming, personal hygiene,
- talking, walking, sitting up, eating, facial expressions, love, compassion
And how about all the endless questions?
- Why is the sky blue? What are trees, birds, clouds, sun, moon, stars?
- Why do we have noses? Mouths? Boogers?
- Where do babies comes from? (Kev) Genders?
- Why do we have to go to school? Get out of bed? Wash and bathe? Brush our teeth?
- Clean up our rooms? Pick up our laundry? On and On and On
And Moms, just keep on giving out all the knowledge they have over and over again
And as children get older, the knowledge level questions get deeper and Mothers are the go to person
You don’t think so – go ask Dad a question – He says “I don’t know – go ask your mother”
READ THE MOM TEST – I was out walking with my 4 year old daughter. She picked up something off the ground and started to put it into her mouth. I took the thing away from her and asked her not to do that. “Why?” She asked. “Because it’s been on the ground, and you don’t know where it’s been. It’s dirty. And it probably has nasty germs.” At this point, my daughter looked at me with absolute admiration and asked, “Mom, how do you know all this stuff? You’re so smart!” I thought quickly and replied, “All moms know this stuff. It’s on the Mom Test. You have to know it or they don’t let you be a Mom.” We walked along in silence for two or three minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new information. “Oh, I get it!” she beamed. “So if you don’t pass the test, YOU HAVE TO BE THE DAD.” “Exactly,” I said!
Read vs 26 again (Expound on speaking wisdom and teaching counsel and instruction)
Quote: “Motherhood is a choice you make every day, to put someone else’s happiness and well-being ahead of your own, to teach the hard lessons, to do the right thing even when you’re not sure what the right thing is…forgiving yourself, over and over again, for doing everything wrong”
Wrap this up this morning
CONCLUSION
Today, we want to thank and celebrate our Mother’s for the thankless job they do every day for us all – their children
We’ve seen that The L.I.F.E. of Mothers really is LABORIOUS (24 hour job), and they are INDESTRUCTIBLE (keep going), and are always FORGIVING (overlook our faults), and they are expected to be walking and talking ENCYCLOPEDIA’s (know everything).
We have so much to thank our mothers for and I hope you will take time today to thank yours.
Leave with this quote “My mother was the force around which our world turned. She was propelled through the universe by the brute force of reason. She was the judge in all our arguments. One disapproving word from her was enough to send us off to hide in a corner, where we would cry and fantasize about our own martyrdom. And yet! One kiss could restore us to princedom! Without her, our lives would dissolve in chaos!”
Pray
