The Sacred Responsibility Of Mothers

A Mother's Proclamation:

"Mothers have a sacred duty to raise their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe all Universal Laws and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live."

Every woman who bears a child thus has a sacred responsibility to provide loving nurturance so that a child can develop toward his or her highest potential.

While both mothers and fathers are essential to a child's healthy development, this article centers on the contribution and responsibility of mothers.

Biologically, mothers have been given the hallowed opportunity to bear children.  Because they nurture the developing child in their own bodies, they almost always feel a compelling drive to protect the new, entirely dependent life they've given birth to.  

Most mothers also feel inherent motivation to comfort and guide their child.

So it's natural in the vast majority of cases that a mother becomes her child's primary caregiver, especially during the first few years of life.  Infants and small children are completely dependent on their caregivers to survive.

As a child grows, she becomes less physically dependent but continues to need the nurturing care of her mother, including acceptance, love, understanding, and teaching. These many hours of care each day make mothers most often the person closest to their children and the person with greatest influence.

Experiences with Mom powerfully shape a child's perspective, attitudes, and sense of self.

Mothering is among the most complex and demanding work imaginable.

Being a mom can require learning the needs of your child's and the best way to lovingly fill those needs.  

Motherhood often is seen as a submissive role with few rewards. In a world that values material possessions so highly, the intangible and unpaid work of mothers can seem unimportant.

A paycheck may become attractive because it may help Mom feel more valued and allows kids to have a higher standard of living.  

Women who buy into these ideas might start to think they're not needed at home.

A mother might decide her children need the material advantages of life more than they need her presence.

But children need their mothers.

No material possession can replace a mother who is present and available to her children.

As mothers sit back and look at what's truly important, it's often easier to see that life's minor follies can't spoil the big picture.

Studies show that women who are mothers believe their lives have greater meaning than women who don't have children. 

"Taking care of a small, dependent, growing person is transforming, because it . . . exposes our vulnerabilities as well as our nobility. We lose our sense of self, only to find it and have it change again and again. . . . We figure out how we want to interpret the wider worlds, and we learn to interact with all those who affect our children. . . . In the end, we have learned more about ourselves, about the cycles of life, and humanity itself." —Ellen Galinsky

It's difficult to measure the value of unselfishly giving of yourself to a child who depends on you. 

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