A primary grade teacher was doing a unit on magnets. For the quiz on the subject, she posed the question, "My full name has six letters. The first one is 'M'. I pick up things. What am I?" To her surprise, fully 50% of the children answered the question with the word "Mother".

Unfortunately, many people appear to treat mothers as if "picking up things" were their primary role. Many mothers have the distinct impression that the only time they are missed is when dinner isn't on the table, a shirt hasn't been washed or ironed, or someone has to actually walk to their destination. When people ask stay-at-home mothers what they do, so often the response is "I'm just a housewife." The word just is the give-away on the devaluation of motherhood in our society. The Bible says, "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies" (Proverbs 31:10). One of the most needful things in our society is to re-cover a sense of the importance of mothering. Shaping the lives of the next generation is an investment on which a dollar value cannot be placed.

Take the time to tell your mother, or the mother of your children, the value of what they have done and are doing. And if you're a mother, know that your work at home is valuable beyond words.

Prayer: Thank you, God, for mothers, whose labours of love might not be appreciated fully except in eternity. Enable us to communicate gratitude to those who mean so much to us, here and now. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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About the author:

Robin Ross <rross@telus.net>
Mission, British Columbia, Canada
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