Mother's Day

As I considered Mothers on this day to celebrate them, I thought of all the Mother’s in my life…

• My Mom- raised us humbly. A clean hand and pure heart.
• My sisters- Liz and Alli making us mac n cheese and Alli getting burned.  They sacrificed some of their childhood for me. 
• My Grandma Parkin- Olivia caught swearing on the playground and me tattletaling. Grandma pulling her aside and asking Olivia if she wanted to end up like her?  If not, she needed to stop with the bad language.
• Elaine Engstrum- taught me the missionary lessons as an eight year old and became one of my best friends.  Wrote me my whole mission, sent me referrals of people who lived in California. She loved life, every moment of it. Up until the day she passed away, she welcomed me into her heart fully.

What I came to realize this morning is that mother is synonymous with woman.  In Moses 4:26 it describes Eve’s name as the, “mother of all living.”  She was the first woman and the first mother.  Each of the women mentioned above have, in their own way, been a mother to me.  I hope to one day be like them. 

In the book, “Daughters in My Kingdom,” there is a quote I came across that I feel like describes mothers,

A Place of Refuge pg. 86

           " Since the early days of Relief Society, sisters have provided a place of refuge-a place of healing, love, kindness, care, and belonging. In Nauvoo, sisters found refuge in Relief Society as they relied on each others’ faith and skills and as they shared food and clothing.  This continued as they crossed the plains and as they established themselves in the Utah Territory. Now, as they Church grows throughout the world, sisters continue to find refuge in Relief Society." 

Mother’s and women provide a place of refuge. A place of healing, love, kindness, care, and belonging.

I recently worked at a girl’s group home in provo.  One of my favorite girls was a Native American girl who came from a family of ten children, her mother was 32 years old.  Her mother was in trouble with the law, which left her ten children spread out across Utah in various detention centers and foster care.  This little girl had broken down one day and cried about the reality of not having a mother who wanted the best for her. I realized then, how ungrateful I had been about my loving and encouraging mother, who had always accepted me for who I was but inspired me to be better then I thought I could be.  I tried to be, in some small way, a mother to this little girl. Help her see that I believed in a bigger and better future for her. 

With this same Native, and a few others who lived at the group home, I was able to go to a Cultural event at UVSC for Native American students.  At this event, the speaker talked on the importance of family and of education.  I loved what he was saying and was scrambling to write some of his words down on any scrap of paper I could find in my purse.  The girls who had gone with me had been given a big folder full of information and suddenly this girl hands me a paper from her folder.  She had seen me struggling and had filled my need. She was a mother to me in that moment. 

The speaker had said, “I heard someone say that their mom was their hero. I thought it cliché.  But not anymore. The parents should be their children’s heroes.  That shoe should fit.  What a beautiful thing to be so connected to a person and to still look up to them as you see every moment of their life, how they live each moment of their day.”

I loved that and it is exactly how I feel about my mom. 

So…What now? What does this have to do with enduring to the end? Motherhood is interwoven with faith, repentance and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost. My older sister had her first baby and suffered from postpartum depression.  I think part of it had to do with feelings of inadequacy as she held this baby and realized what motherhood meant for her.  She exercised great faith, repented and received the Holy Ghost to be healed and whole. Mothers must trust that God has called each of us as women and He will, and has, qualified us for the work.