Motherhood is a calling and a responsibility.  It is a calling in the sense it is not earned; it is given unto us.  The fact that we have a womb and a husband does not guarantee motherhood.  Equally true is that it is a responsibility; we who are called to be mothers must fulfill our obligations to raise our children to adulthood, and to prepare them to face life’s challenges.  Like any other roles, we who were nurtured by good and loving mothers are a step ahead of those who were not.  We have a model to follow after.  Sadly, we, who were not given the same privilege, must struggle to find another model, and along the way, sort the good from the bad.

But God is just.  To all whom He calls to be mothers He also gives them the ability to be mothers.  Motherhood can be taught, but if we asked our mothers where they learned to be mothers, many would say that they didn’t learn it anywhere; no one taught them; they learned most of it on their own.  God has planted the seed in the mothers’ hearts; in the right environment the seed will grow. 

I see that in Santy.  Yes, she learned about basic mothering skills from her mother in the first five years of parenting. Afterward, she learned it all by herself.  The next fourteen years while we were in Indonesia she somehow managed to mother our children well.  It was God who planted the mother-seed in her.  God called her, so God equipped her.  And that is how women become mothers. 

No one will dispute the fact that mothering is hard work.  So, let me end with words of wisdom from Ruth Graham, “We mothers must take care of the possible and trust God for the impossible.” We do what we can and what we must, and then leave the rest that we can’t do to God.  Mothers must trust God for the things they can’t.

Pastor Paul