The Many Layers of Motherhood

Mother’s Day reminds me of the generations of women whose love has touched my life in various seasons. From a young age, I realized that having the loving constant of a devoted and encouraging mother was a gift that not everyone was blessed to have, a blessing that I did not (and still don’t) take for granted. Once I married, I added my mother-in-law to my celebrations, grateful that her loving influence made my husband into the amazing partner and father that he is.

After becoming a mother myself, I better understood why Mother’s Day could be a difficult day of mixed emotions, since the road to motherhood is not linear and can have heartbreaking boulders in its path. How do you tell your sister that you are pregnant when she has been trying to have a baby for a year? How do you tell your family that you just miscarried the child whose ultrasound you were showing off at the last family gathering? Motherhood is certainly a journey-- and what a delightful journey it can be--but also a messy and complicated one at times.

Mother’s Day also makes me think of the influential mothers in my life who are now gone, most recently my maternal grandmother and my mother-in-law, whose love I see living on in my own children. A woman’s love can be powerful and uplifting to all life around them, even beyond their own lifetime. Another layer of motherhood I recognize is the other women who shaped me: my godmother, honorary “aunts” and real aunts, even girlfriends my own age who have loved me with a mothering spirit.

As women, we were given the miraculous ability to create, nurture, sustain and multiply life. Mother’s Day is a day to honor all women and the life, energy, and love we cultivate in our world. Whether it be birthing babies or ideas, we are powerful forces of creation.

Look around for the loving females in your life who have shaped you into who you are, and use Mother’s Day as a chance to acknowledge them and express your gratitude. (May we suggest a card?)