Amidst all the hype in Social Media thanking mothers during Mother's Day, I would like to say that I am more grateful that God gave me the opportunity to become a mom. Motherhood is a gift from God, one of the greatest a woman could ever have.
I am grateful that my kids thank me for the things I do for them. That
is only one of the perks of being a mother. But they don't actually need
to thank me, that is my job, like I signed a contract when I decided to
carry them in my womb for nine months (Genesis 3:16) and rear them to
become a good person until they are able to live a life of their own.
I am still a newbie mom, despite being a mother of two, my eldest being only 5 years old. Yet those five years have been the most fruitful years of my life.
Motherhood taught me a lot of things I have never learned when I still did not have children of my own. Motherhood opened the doors to a lot of emotions I never thought I would feel. Motherhood changed my perspective in life. Motherhood brought out the best in me.
Patience
Guiding my child as she learns how to walk, she faltered several times but I was patient enough to guide her.
Or when she(my youngest) was playing with her poop and spreading it all over the floor, I gathered all the patience I had to clean her and the house and not to get mad.
Or when during our bonding time, she(my eldest) asks about the same thing over and over again, wanting me to give her the answers she wants to hear. Answering the who, when, what, where and whys, takes a lot of patience.
They also taught me to learn to wait for my turn. Since I have two children, they have to take turns when playing with their toys or when using the bathroom. But for me, these instances made me learn how to wait for God's time. I have lots of aspirations in life I can give all my best to achieve it, but I have to wait until God says it's my time.
Courage
When you have children, you can conquer your deepest fears.
I have to display courage so they can have courage.
Like being courageous when surrounded with things or people I am afraid of. Or simply by speaking out my mind without being shy or hesitant. These teach my children to have courage.
Humility
Saying sorry depicts humility. There are times when I say something wrong or commit a mistake, but admitting my fault to them shows humility that they can emulate. And saying sorry even when I was not at fault shows great humility.
Following the rules even when I don't agree to it. Or by respecting other people's opinion without being rude when contradicting them.
Sharing what I have even when I only have few of my stuff is being humble.
I also learned to give credit to others especially to God for my accomplishments or for whatever possession I have because He gave me everything I have.
Gratefulness
Teaching them how to say thank you even for trivial things. I also learned how to be grateful with the little things I have.
I learned to be grateful for each moment I spend with my family. Thankful for all the blessings I received be it big or small.
Before I thought that there are things that i am entitled to because I earned it. But it's simply not that way, everything comes from the Lord, and because of my sins I am only entitled to death, but with God's grace I am able to cherish the life that I have now. So whatever I have, be it big or small, anything that is bestowed to me by the Lord, I am grateful.
Forgiveness
I learned to forgive big and small faults. Many times my children hurt me, physically, but unintentionally. And those trite moments they hurt me, I learned to forgive.
Many times they also hurt each other, but it is just amazing how children can easily forgive each other. This taught me how to forgive others who also hurt me big time.
Persistence
Have you watched a kid doing the same task over and over again, trying so many times, just so he or she can achieve what they want? Like a child trying to climb over their crib, so they can finally escape their mini cage.
Children are persistent. This taught me how to try and try even if I fail many times.
At first try, we may not get what we want, just like in business or in our work. But we have to be persistent, because great things take time.
At first try, we may not get what we want, just like in business or in our work. But we have to be persistent, because great things take time.
Creativeness
Many times people buy my children toys but then they only play with it for a short a while because all they really want to play with are my pots and pans and the sand and plain paper where they draw and paint. They make their own toys too, with recycled boxes and old clothes and socks.
This sparkled the creativity in me too. I was able to make use of the things around the house and made them purposeful, thus saving me money and providing lots of creative 'me' time.
It also allowed me to make ideas into creations.
It also allowed me to make ideas into creations.
Thoughtfulness
I used to be selfish and thought only about myself. But having children made me think of them most of the time. I learned to think of their need first instead of mine. I learned to think a step ahead when it comes to what they need.
I learned to be thoughtful not only for my children, but to people who matter the most to me.
Trust
I used to have an issue with trust. Many times people have hurt me and broken my trust. But one incident of my child being bullied by her best friend reminded me again about trusting other people.
I used to mistrust other people because I wanted to protect myself from being hurt again. From trusting again and being betrayed afterwards.
But dealing with people requires trust, whether they fail us or not is part of it. But not all people are the same, there are people who are good and genuine. Not trusting people hurt my relationship with others. Trusting them will create a bridge towards the gap I created between them and me. And hopefully will enable me to relate to them better.
Selflessness
As I said earlier, I used to be selfish. I used to be success driven, materialistic and full of myself. But having children, taught me to become selfless.
My children taught me that life is not all about me, about what I can get, but what I can give.
They taught me to live for others. Because that is what makes life meaningful.
Love
Storge, the kind of love of a parent to a child. It may not be "Agape" or Godly love, because I am only human and I am naturally sinful. But I learned to love my children as a parent loves their child.
I don't believe that loving your children is an instinct, because if it is, then there wouldn't be mothers choosing abortion. But it is a choice, and one of the greatest choices in life that I have made.
I learned how it is to truly love when I married my husband, but I learned that I can have more love to give when I had my own children.
Yes, mothers are truly a blessing to the world but being a mother is a greater blessing. Only few are chosen to become mothers. And only a few are really able to live up to the Godly role of being a mother.
To all the mothers, mother-to-be, foster mothers, once a mother, whoever you are, let's thank God for the blessing of motherhood. Cheers!
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