She’s a new mother; she is also an older mother. Because of her age, she worried herself silly during her pregnancy. Her physician quickly picked up on her anxiety and did her best to assure her that all was well, even ordering some tests that were only marginally needed. Near the end of her pregnancy, the doctor said with a smile, “I hate to tell you this, but you have had a perfectly normal pregnancy.” Her baby is several months old now and she is just beginning to relax about the child’s well-being.
Wade ParisA mother’s concern begins long before the child arrives; then it continues for all the years that follow. You sometimes hear of mothers mistreating, even abusing, their children. Keep in mind, those are the exceptions. For every mother that mistreats her children, there are a million mothers who would give their lives for their children.
After my father died, my mother’s resources were small. When I would call or visit, I would ask, “Are you making it okay?”
“Oh, yes,” she would say; and then she would tell me about sewing or monogramming she had done and how much money she made. It was never much. When she died, we realized she had done without a lot. We could have helped her somehow, but she preferred to do without so her children could live better. I was and still am sad about that. However, I am not surprised. She sacrificed for her children all her life.
It is God-given human nature for mothers to love and care for their children. Even animals do so. Some robins built a nest in a tree near our steps. When we got too close, the Mother Robin would try to attack us. It was foolhardy; we could easily have crushed her. But, for her babies, she would even take on the human giants.
The book of Genesis tells of God’s creative activity. The repetitive quotes go like this: God created this, and it was good; God created that, and it was good.
The purpose of the Genesis account is to tell us God created the world. That is a monumental bit of history, so the writer paints with broad strokes.
If he had written in greater detail, he might have recorded, “God created mothers and that was very, very good.”
Wade Paris writes a weekly syndicated column titled “The Shepherd Calls.”
