The L.i.f.e Of Mothers

The L.I.F.E. of Mothers

Proverbs 31:10-31 (AMP)

Intro – Read Article from NY Times

1. Laborious (read vs. 13-17; 27)

Defined: requiring long, hard work; perseverance

From the beginning – when a mother has a child – she goes into what is called LABOR

This labor is just the beginning – it is painful, it is long, and yet mothers endure it for joy

And if once wasn’t enough – they do it several more times – have several more children – that will require her to work even harder

The hardest working person on this planet is a mother – her work is never done

Cooking, cleaning, clothing, caring for her children – endless dishes – endless laundry

Endless dirty floors, endless toys to pick-up, endless diapers, giving baths, endless cleaning up of spills and messes

Wiping noses, and bottoms and tears

Working in the home and many have to work and labor outside the home

Mothers are laborious – they persevere – they endure – their work is never-ending

Just as we have read in our text this morning

QUOTE: “once you sign on to be a mother, that’s the only shift they offer”

And when they do finally go to bed and sleep for 5-6 hours – they get up and it starts over again.

Salary.com has calculated that the annual salary for Mothers would be roughly $170K a year – equated to $14K a month - $3.2K a week - $82 per hour for a 40 hour work week

But we know Mothers are not on a 40 hour a week job – so in recalculating by the standard of 24 hours a day – her hourly salary would be $19 an hour

(cartoon of hired)

And the amazing thing is they do it for the salary of loving their children – none of us would be here today without our MOTHER’S.

Trans: The second letter for LIFE is “I” which stands for mothers being…

2. Indestructible (read vs. 18)

Defined: very durable; unable to be destroyed

Mothers truly do seem to be indestructible – at least that’s the way we think about them

In my house – mom gets tired – whirring sound – as if she reboots – and goes on

Moms don’t get sick days – they don’t get to call in sick – my wife had walking pneumonia, bronchitis, and maybe strep – running a 101 fever at times

She just kept going – the energizer bunny can’t hold a candle to mothers

Mothers, we all know, don’t need much sleep either – or so we think because that’s what we expect of them

Definition of MOMBIE – “A sleep deprived supermom who feeds on caffeine and chocolate, and survives on sticky kisses and messy smiles and who sleep with one eye open at all times.”

Let’s face it – Dad gets sniffles and he’s down for the count – but not Mom – she is as tough as a green beret and yet as gentle as soft kiss that heals all booboos.

This cartoon explains how she does it all (super cape found)

Trans: The third letter for LIFE is “F” which stands for mothers being…

3. Forgiving (Read vs. 12, 20)

Defined: the ability to overlook shortcomings - merciful

Mothers are some of the most forgiving people on earth

It truly is the closest to God’s forgiveness

It has been said “the heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness”

Quote from Jessica Lange “The natural state of motherhood is unselfishness. When you become a mother, you are no longer the center of your own universe. You relinquish that position to your children”

I don’t know how many times we have broken our mother’s heart – disappointed her – failed to appreciate her – and she always forgives us.

Mothers are the models of what forgiveness looks like – she easily forgives her children – but LOOK OUT if you wrong one of her children! (Expound)

Just as Romans 8 says that nothing can separate us from the love of God so too, is a mother’s love inseparable from her children

Just as the Psalmist says God remembers our sins as far as the east is from the west – a mother’s forgiveness follows the same path

And mothers are not real for sure if they are doing a very good job at times because they rarely get thanked or appreciated. (Watch this clip to illustrate)

Trans: The last letter for LIFE is “E” which stands for mothers being an…

4. Encyclopedia (Read vs 26)

Defined: A comprehensive reference work containing articles on a wide range of subjects

You moms know exactly what I’m talking about right here

Your children expect that you have all the knowledge in the world – about every subject under the sun (Can I get a witness?)