TheDiscipleMD
Over the years as I have traveled about my church, I have had thousands of opportunities to speak with, and watch Mothers. They came in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Some were young, gallantly fighting to keep their young ones reverent and in line. I watched them get up and down throughout the meetings. I watched them walking the halls with crying babies in arms, usually with another small one hanging on to their skirt. I know they sometimes wonder why they are even coming at all. When I would interview them they would tell me of their struggles and also of their joys in being a young mother.
I saw and met with the middle age mothers who have teenagers that they love so dearly and want for the good things of this world to bless their lives. They worry and fret about today, tomorrow and the future for their kids. They battle the forces of evil, day after day after day, wanting only the best for their kids. They are starting to show a few battle scars. They have a few gray hairs that they now cover with the latest bottled product. They faithfully sit up at night watching the clock until the last one makes it home safely. They no longer claim to know all the answers but have the hope that all their hard work over the years will pay off.
I have met with the older women of my church who smile and laugh with their grandchildren and then gently give them back to their daughters with a sense of relief and also a sense of longing for yesteryear. Their bodies are beginning to weaken, but their spirits are getting stronger by the day. Then there are the mothers who never were given the opportunity in this life to bear a child, but who gain hope from the promises of the Lord that motherhood will be theirs in the eternities. They are the strong ones who spend their life nurturing the sons and daughters of all the other Mothers by the service that they render in teaching, guiding and loving. They are divine in their assistance of the great role of Mother.
One characteristic is common among all of them. They have unwavering love and devotion for their children. Throughout history who is it that is found at the feet of condemned men, her love still intact! As Christ himself hung on the cross, Mary his mother, is recorded to be at his feet. (John 19:25) Who sees the beauty in the face of the most unlovely baby! Who is it that sits by the bedside as an illness slowly takes the life of her child! Who patiently listens as the frustrated child pours out their soul in frustration, anger and agony! A Mother is the answer! The list of the wonderful qualities of Motherhood is endless. I marvel at the beauty of it! It is indescribable, it is immense, and it is eternal.”
David O. McKay had this to say of Motherhood:
“Motherhood is the greatest potential influence either for good or ill in human life. The mother’s image is the first that stamps itself on the … young child’s mind. It is her caress that first awakens a sense of security; her kiss, the first realization of affection; her sympathy and tenderness, the first assurance that there is love in the world” (Improvement Era, 1953, p. 452).
No matter the society, no matter the age of time and no matter the separation of distance, a Mother’s influence permeates her children’s world. Her influence stays with them as they travel to distant lands; to the heights of success or the depths of hell. Her love knows no bounds nor has limits. She is the lighthouse that guides and protects her lonesome mariners who are sailing the stormy seas of life. She is, in one word “charity” personified.
So I salute mothers of all colors, faiths, countries and backgrounds, both living and dead; past and present, and those to come. In you is carried the beauty of this life, the hope of the future, and the richness of the past. May the Lord watch over, protect, and bless you-always!