The Blessings Of Motherhood

The Blessing of Motherhood

One thing we celebrate in May is Mother’s Day. On the second Sunday of the month, we recognize how much our moms mean to us & give thanks to them for being there for us when we need them. Mothers should be celebrated every day because that’s one job that doesn’t come with time off. Right moms? Along with fathers mothers are part of the cornerstone of the Christian family. A strong mother will give their child the love & nourishment they need to be the person God created them to be.

The love a mother has for her children is stronger than almost anything we can ever feel. Mothers want to nurture, guide, & provide for their kids. They will sacrifice their own comforts to do those things. Who do you think gets up in the middle of the night when a baby cries because they’re hungry? Who do you think gets the job of changing the baby’s diaper when they’re stinky? Who do you think gets to teach the baby the basic skills of life? Yes, in many homes the dad does help with those things. But most of the time those jobs lie on mom’s shoulders. Mom will do them for their kid without complaining.

I even had the opportunity to receive that kind of love & attention when I was grown. After I was discharged from inpatient rehab I went home to live with my mom. At that point, I still needed much attention. Therapists advised that I not be left alone for more than 30 minutes. I needed someone to cook for me, to take care of my finances, to remind me about things to do, to supervise me when I did things that could be unsafe, & other things like that. Mom & I joke around that she raised me twice! Fortunately, she didn’t have to change any diapers the second time!

After that tragic event in my life, I was uncertain about many things. I didn’t know how I would provide for myself since I didn’t have a car or a job. I didn’t know how I would keep in touch with my daughters Kennedy & Delaney who were 7 & 3 at the time. I didn’t know if my marriage with Kathy would last through recovery. I didn’t know how having a father who was disabled would affect my girls. I didn’t know how Kathy would manage to raise our daughters. I didn’t know what my future life would be like. All those things I was uncertain about. But there was one thing I did know. I did know that I could count on my mom to help me through this in any way she could. By the grace of God, she has been an invaluable part of my life through all of this.

I know she will be there for me anytime I need her. For example, she makes sure we have plenty of food in the house before she goes on a vacation. Before she went to the mountains this time, she asked me to put the groceries I wanted on a list because she was going grocery shopping that day. I put the things I wanted on the list. She went shopping & came back with everything I added to the list plus 7 or 8 grocery bags full of things I didn’t ask for. She wanted to be sure I had the food I needed. She told me to put them away so I’d know where things were. I went to 3 different freezers to store all of it! I will be good on food for a while. That’s the love & care of a mother.

Because moms are a vital part of the Christian family, God has provided examples of how to be good moms in the Bible. I’d like to share with you the stories of two great moms in the Bible. You probably already know their story but we can look at them as biblical mom models & see the type of love & devotion moms have.

The first mother we’ll look at is Moses’ mom Jochebed (Jo-Ke-bed). Jochebed was a daughter of Levi, one of the twelve sons of Jacob. This means she was born into the Israelite tribe of Levi. As a Levite, she likely grew up with religious training and knowledge of Israel’s history, promises, & laws. Jochebed married her nephew Amram & together they had three famous children – Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. All of Jochebed’s children were important in the Bible. They all grew up to be major players in Israel’s redemption from Egypt. Miriam was a prophetess & leader of the Hebrew women (Exodus 15:20). Aaron served as the first high priest of Israel & spokesman for Moses (Exodus 4:14-16). Jochebed was a great mother to all of these kids but we will focus on what she did for her son Moses because he was such a strong leader in the kingdom of God.