"Behold Thy Mother"

I hate to think making statements about how awesome motherhood is and how it's the best work I could be doing might dim the light of others who haven't had the same opportunities for one reason or another. If it's because you don't want it, then I still feel bad because being a mother is so great.  Something I'm now having the opportunity to witness is meeting up with friends from my pre-marriage life who have kids now and it's awesome to see the love carried forward.

This is the direct quote from Elder Holland I referenced a few days ago: No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child [...]

Bear, borne, carry, deliver. These are powerful, heartening messianic words. They convey help and hope for safe movement from where we are to where we need to be—but cannot get without assistance. These words also connote burden, struggle, and fatigue—words most appropriate in describing the mission of Him who, at unspeakable cost, lifts us up when we have fallen, carries us forward when strength is gone, delivers us safely home when safety seems far beyond our reach. 'My Father sent me,' He said, 'that I might be lifted up upon the cross; … that as I have been lifted up … even so should men be lifted up … to … me.'  But can you hear in this language another arena of human endeavor in which we use words like bear and borne, carry and lift, labor and deliver? As Jesus said to John while in the very act of Atonement, so He says to us all, “Behold thy mother!”

{Angie, sophomore roommate & Baby Gideon, 15 months}

“Can a woman forget her sucking child?” he asks. How absurd, he implies, though not as absurd as thinking Christ will ever forget us. [...] You see, it is not only that they bear us, but they continue bearing with us. It is not only the prenatal carrying but the lifelong carrying that makes mothering such a staggering feat. 

<see the complete talk HERE>

{Emily, freshman-junior roommate & Baby Oliver, 5 months}

Being a mother is challenging only because I am completely flawed. These children require much patience. They begin completely helpless.  And it's hard to give your body over to them! But we do, pregnancy, delivery and the first few months are completely that. Until they learn to move and grow a little stronger, they rely solely on you for everything. And that is daunting! and exhausting. It creates stress and your body slowly tries to adjust to it all, quite magically, but still.  Even now a few years later, Lexi loves to think she is independent and that comes with its own challenges! Teaching your children becomes vital. Creating a house of learning and a house of faith can still be just as exhausting. And the worry never ends. We will care for these children until our dying breath and then some. My goal is eternal because I can't imagine not being near them forever. I'm obsessed.

Motherhood is amazing. Because if you're lucky, you will not find anyone more invested in your happiness than your mother who is willing to sacrifice it all. We were created to nurture and love these kiddos forever.

{McPolin Farm, Park City, UT}