DEFINING MOM
We can probably come up with many adjectives to describe our mothers. And a mom wears many hats and fulfills many roles in the household. But today I want to highlight some of the staple traits that define the majority of moms. Not that these terms can't be applied to those who aren't a mom, but we can attest to how they are fitting terms to define mom.
1) Sacrificial.
Moms sacrifice for the well being of their kids. They let go of their personal preferences so their kids can have things. Even though Mom could use some new clothes she forfeits that "luxury" for the sake of getting the kids new school clothes. She would go without a meal if there was only enough food for the kids. And she would think nothing of it.
Some moms even choose to sacrifice keeping their kids so they can have a better life. It takes all they have to let their precious child go so they can survive and have a chance at life. Many foreigners have done that. If their homeland is impoverished or war-stricken, they send their children off to America. I can't imagine the pain and grief of coming to that conclusion-knowing you will probably never see them again.
When I think of biblical moms that have let their children go like that I think of Moses' mother. You may be familiar with the story but there is something interesting about her sacrifice. Pharaoh had commanded the midwives that if any Hebrew gave birth to a male he was to be thrown into the Nile. Moses was born after this command was given. What was his mother going to do?
Exodus 2:1-10, "Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.
His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.
Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” “Yes, go,” she answered. And the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him.
When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”
According to Ex. 6:20, Moses' mother was Jochebed. So Jochebed knows that she couldn't hide Moses forever. Can you imagine how fearful those three months must have been for her? Then add on the agony of having your baby with you for three months and then putting him in a basket and sailing him down a river littered with crocodiles? I'm sure she planned for the basket to go toward the bathing area of Pharaoh's daughters but anything could happen on the way; nothing would be predictable.
So she has Miriam, Moses' older sister, watch to see how things went. Sure enough, Moses lands in the hands of Pharaoh's daughter. She has pity and decides not to have him put to death; which is another chance Jochebed would be taking. How did she know Pharaoh's daughter wouldn't bring the boy to her father to have him put to death?
But that didn't happen. Miriam asks if she wanted her to get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby. She does and we see Jochebed come back into her baby's life. This would be bittersweet. When Moses was born her joy was bittersweet because of Pharaoh's decree, now she is in this position again.
When Moses was born, she had him for three months but knew that it couldn't stay that way. Now, she knows again that she would be with her baby only until he was weaned. Jochebed made a double sacrifice. She released him down the river after three months and then released him again to Pharaoh's daughter after three years.
Can you imagine the mental and emotional toll this would take on a mother? How much could she really enjoy the time spent with her baby all the while knowing she was going to have to give him back and may never see him again? Knowing he would be raised as an Egyptian-the very ones who had enslaved her people.
How would that play out when he was older? How would she feel if she recognized him? She would have to see her child and not be able to reveal her identity or interact with him as his mother. All that sacrifice just so Moses would have a chance at life. Jochebed decided her pain, grief and emotional torment was worth it.
Moms sacrifice a lot in order to try to secure a better life for their children. They work long hours, then come home to cook, clean and take care of the house. They take the kids to practices and plays; help with homework. And often times without so much as a 'thank you'. But they lovingly endure it. It may be a struggle sometimes, it may be exhausting and tiresome and it can be mentally and emotionally draining; but to them, it's worth it.
And that's without any guarantee of how things are going to turn out. There's no guarantee all that sacrifice is going to pay the dividend of producing the best outcome. But the unknown results don't diminish the heart & soul they pour into it. Moms are sacrificial.
2) Nurturing.
To nurture means to care for, look after, raise. It also means to cultivate, cherish, develop, support and encourage. Moms nurture by nature. It's instilled in them to be a nurturer. That's one reason why you see fathers abandon their families much more often than moms do. You see a lot more single moms than you do single dads.
Moms don't have it in them to abandon their kids. They wouldn't think of detaching from their need to care for and look after their children. They start nurturing as soon as they learn they're pregnant. They change their diet, stop smoking and drinking, take their vitamins, get regular check-ups, etc.
Actually, a mother's nurturing instincts kick in way before then. Through playing with dolls, babysitting or perhaps taking care of their younger siblings, their caretaking and nurturing skills are established. You don't see too many male babysitters; guys aren't very interested in that-I know I wasn't too thrilled the few times I had to babysit my brother.
That's not to say dads aren't nurturing. I'm that way toward Shaun. But moms are hard-wired by God to naturally be this way. Speaking of God, that's one of the ways we should view God-as a nurturer. It might seem weird to view our heavenly Father with this motherly quality, but it's true. Since God's the one who instilled these traits into the mother, it makes sense that he would possess them himself.
Think about the numerous times we've seen God take care of us and look after us. The psalmists have asked, "What is man that you are mindful of him; what is man that you care for him"? Basically that says, 'who are we, Lord, that you would be so nurturing towards us?'
Job 7:17, “What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention?" Isn't it great, and humbling, to know God puts so much care and concern into each one of us? The Master over the whole universe is not so big that he doesn't have time to invest in us. Think about the ways God cultivates his character in us and develops and matures us. That takes time; that takes effort. But that's how much we matter to God.
Moms typically feel their child is special. Their child is the cutest, the best, the smartest. When mom goes to the game she's looking for her child to come running out onto the field. She cringes when he gets tackled and she cheers when she scores a goal. She feels terrible when they lose. This is how God feels about us. He supports us when we're sad or lonely and he encourages us when we've messed-up or fallen short.
Psalm 94:18-19, "When I said, “My foot is slipping, ” your love, O LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul."
Do you have the type of mom who was always in your corner? When you were nervous in the school play or during the game you looked over and saw Mom cheering you on, saying, "you got this". Did you feel inspired just by her presence? You knew mom loved you no matter what.
This is how God is. When we start to slip, knowing how much God loves us helps to straighten us back up. Being reminded of his promises and hearing his words of comfort helps calm us down. All the nurturing aspects you've ever loved in your mom or have in yourself are there because God is the author of those gifts. He shows the example of what each of those characteristics look like.
As women experience and appreciate the nurturing aspect of their heavenly Father, they become better equipped to transfer that love to their children when they become moms. Moms are nurturing because God is a nurturer.
3) Protective.
Moms are protectors of their children. They protect them while they're in the womb. Like I said earlier, they eat right and take their vitamins; they don't ingest things that would be harmful to the baby. They do their best to not get stressed out; they don't do too much physically when they get to the third trimester; things like that.
They get the baby monitors and they make sure the baby is all bundled up when they go outside. When they get to be toddlers they child-proof the house with cabinet locks, gates, outlet covers and whatever else they feel they need to keep the little one safe.
Sometimes moms can be a little overprotective too; they can overdo it. Remember in the movie, A Christmas Story, when mom was getting little Randy ready to walk to school. [pic]. Poor little Randy couldn't put his arms down. Mom said he could put his arms down when he got to school. Then he fell on his way to school and couldn't get back up. I think Mom may have used a little too much snow gear. [Ralphie-BB gun-you'll shoot your eye out!]
You've heard Jeff Foxworthy's, you might be a redneck material. Here are some things on the, you might be an overprotective mom list. If you're walking across the street with your teenager and you ask them to give you their hand, you might be overprotective.
If you hear your child cough and you tell them to get in bed and you're calling the doctor, you might be overprotective. Although in our current crisis that might be more understandable. If you hire a private investigator to shadow them when they leave the house, you might be overprotective. If you told your daughter she can't date until she's 35, you might be a little overprotective.
Even though sometimes moms can go a little overboard, we're glad they're protective of us. Moms watch out for predators. Moms monitor online activity. Moms want to know who their kids are hanging out with.
And God help anyone who poses a threat to their child's well being, right? That's when mama bear comes out. You come across a mama bear with her cubs in the wild you better pray you can ease yourself out of there.
Human moms have that same, protective nature too; you mess with the kids mama's gonna mess with you. As we think about the ways mom is protective of her kids, we can get a picture of how God is protective over us.
Psalm 5:11-12, "But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield."
Isn't this a comforting passage? We are able to take refuge in the Lord. His protection covers us; we have his favor as a shield. When the Lord's protection is over us there's nothing to be afraid of. Does that mean that nothing bad will ever happen to us? No. We won't be protected from trials and hardships but we will have what we need to protect ourselves from being negatively affected by them.
Throughout the Psalms you'll see where the psalmists mention different virtues protecting them. 25:21, "May integrity and uprightness protect me". 40:11, "May your love and truth always protect me". 69:29, "May your salvation, O God, protect me". Prov. 2:11 says that discretion will protect us and understanding will guard us. Prov. 4:6 says that wisdom will protect us.
God protects us through these virtues. When we have integrity and uprightness we are protected from making foolish choices. When we know God loves us and when we know and live in his truth we're protected from Satan's lies and deceptions. When we know we are saved we're protected from our fear of death.
Having wisdom, discretion and understanding will protect us from getting caught-up in our old ways. We'll be protected from the consequences of being unprotected. God provides what we need to be protected.
A mom does this too. She teaches and instructs her child in what to look out for. She gives them knowledge and understanding about what goes on in the world. As a mom looks out for and protects her children, she also educates and prepares them to be protected when she's not going to be with them. A mom watches out for and protects her children.
The points I used to define mom today were sacrificial, nurturing and protective. But you may be sitting there thinking I neglected the most important trait that defines mom-love. Actually, I haven't; all of these traits are interconnected with love. You can't be sacrificial, nurturing, or protective unless love is involved. In fact, love is the driving force behind all of them.
In the love chapter, 1 Cor. 13, you'll see this. It says love is not self-seeking; there's sacrifice. It says love is patient and kind; these are qualities needed in being nurturing. It says love always protects. So, love wasn't missing from the sermon today; it was woven all through it.
The following is from the article, The Impact of a Mother's Influence. "A study released by the University of Melbourne's School of Behavioral Science shows that 40% of the students surveyed said they consider their mother to be the single most significant person in their lives.
As you nurture your children in an atmosphere of unconditional love, they develop a positive and healthy self-image. Your engagement and support will help them become the best that they can be. A mother's love, encouragement, and support are valuable."
When Christ defines you, then your godliness will define you as a mother. You will pray for, teach and train up your child in the way he/she should go. You will set the example and pave the way for your child to follow, as you follow Christ. And your life will be marked by God's love. These wonderful qualities define you as a woman and they define you as a mom.
