"Increase your understanding of and appreciation for womanhood. Read Proverbs 31:10-31 and two talks on womanhood from a conference issue of the Church magazines. Review what "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" says about being a wife and a mother. Then ask your mother or another mother you admire what she thinks are important attributes for being a mother. List the attributes in your journal. Then choose one of those attributes and strive to develop it. After two weeks report your success to a parent or Young Women leader."
I chose to read Elder M. Russell Ballard's talk "Daughters of God" (Ensign, May 2008, p. 108-110) and the following statement jumped off the page at me:
"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different and unique for each mother and each family."
What a relief!-I don't have to clean like Amanda, teach like Leslie, be spiritual like Tammy, or do their hair like Melanie. I certainly want to learn from their fabulous examples but I am not supposed to be like them-I am supposed to be ME!
Whoa-who is that?
Sometimes I am so busy comparing myself to the amazing moms in my neighborhood and ward that I forget to ask: What kind of mother does Heavenly Father need me to be for my kids? Each family situation is "unique", meaning it is "one-of-a-kind; having no equal; not typical". (Random House Webster's Dictionary, p. 719)
What kind of mother does Heavenly Father need you to be for your kids?
Well...Let's find out. Grab your journal, a notebook or last week's grocery list and answer the following questions.
1. What are your challenges?
2. What are your skills?
3. Who are your children?
Let's review the examples of some mothers who faced challenges but used their talents, abilities and skills to meet the needs of their children.
I lived in Old Testament times. My challenge was to protect my baby--a male--from being killed by the Egyptians. I hid him for three months and when I could hide him no more, I placed him a basket and placed him in the river. I sent my daughter to follow him to see what would happen to him. He was found by the Pharaoh's daughter and raised as her own.
Case Study #2
My story takes place in the New Testament. My challenge was to rear the Son of God.
Case Study #3
Our story takes place in the Book of Mormon. Our challenge was to leave behind the wicked traditions of our fathers and teach our children the ways of the Lord. At the time of our conversion, we buried our weapons and covenanted to never fight again. As time passed and wars and death increased, our children took up weapons of war in our stead and fought valiantly.
Jochebed-mother of Moses. How do you determine to send your infant son down a river in a basket? Jochebed must have prayed, counseled with her husband, listened intently for revelation and had the faith necessary to follow the direction given.
Mary-mother of Christ. How does one rear the Divine Son? When I become overwhelmed with the demands of motherhood, I think of Mary. Was she ever overwhelmed?
I think of the experience when Christ was 12 and they went to the Passover in Jerusalem. They left Jerusalem and had traveled "a day's journey" before they knew he was missing. They turned around went back to Jerusalem, probably a little faster than "a day's journey" but not much when you are on foot or on a donkey. Upon arriving in Jerusalem, they searched for three days before finding him in the temple. Five days of traveling, searching, worrying, praying and sorrowing. Losing Jesus? Overwhelmed? Yes. Pressed forward? Yes.
The mothers of the 2000 Stripling Warriors. How does one raise young men to be righteous, faithful, valiant, courageous when that is not your heritage? "Our mothers knew it" and everything they said, lived and taught confirmed it.
You. Mother of __________. You are unique, one-of-a-kind, unequaled and not typical and so will be the answers and solutions to the challenges you face as you mother the rising generation.
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