I LOVE being a Mother!

I was reading Mindy's comments and she mentioned the word "love" over and over. As I read her comments I realized that is what Motherhood is all about - it is truly all about LOVE! Thanks for your comments!

I too love being a Mother. I feel very passionate about being a Mother and I feel a strong desire to help other mothers/women feel the true importance of the great role of a mother. I have found in my few short years of motherhood that many around me are not happy moms. Being a mother can be very hard. It requires selflessness. In a world full of selfishness it is hard to give up what you want now for a greater future good, like caring for your children. If I hear mothers complain about their children and the troubles of being a mother, it can almost always be traced back to selfishness. Now, I do not believe you should wake up in the morning and before doing anything else you bow down to your children and say, " what is thy bidding my masters?" NO way! I do however believe we should wake up in the morning and before anything else ask Heavenly Father what He would have us do. He wants us to love our children, take care of them, teach them, guide them, help them to love Him and serve Him. That requires effort, time, sacrifice, and above all - LOVE! If we can find that love for our children, it will be much easier to want to take care of them. There is a huge difference between being around your children and being with your children. I could exist the whole day with my children running around me. It takes effort to be with them, look them in the eye, talk to them, love them. That effort, I believe, will make ALL the difference!

President Hinckley said:

In this age when more and more women are turning to daily work, how tremendous it is once in a while to just stop and recognize that the greatest job that any woman will ever do will be in nurturing and teaching and living and encouraging and rearing her children in righteousness and truth. There is no other thing that will compare with that, regardless of what she does. I hope that the women of the Church will not slight their greatest responsibility in favor of a lessor responsibility. To the mothers of this Church, as the years pass you will become increasingly grateful for that which you did in molding the love of your children in the direction of righteousness and goodness and integrity and faith. (May 1995)

Most of you and your associates who are married are now employed outside the home. That is a statistical fact. You feel you must do this if you are to provide a home, music lessons, and other rather costly and consuming things. Again, I do not criticize you. I wish it were otherwise. I wish every mother could be at home. I recognize that this is not possible. But I warn against too fancy a home with too large a mortgage, perhaps with a boat and such costly things in the driveway. I simply say that there is nothing in all this world which will bring you greater satisfaction, as the years pass ever so quickly, than seeing your children grow in faith, confidence, freedom from the enslaving elements around us. You will be a very important part of what happens to them. None can adequately substitute for you as mothers. Weigh your options carefully. Be careful, lest you find yourself trading your birthright for a mess of pottage. ( May 1997)

I love the Prophet! If you notice these comments were made over 10 years ago. How much more applicable are they today?

I spent my first years as a mother in an apartment building in Alaska. My view out the back window was of a fence caving in on me. It was often dark and cold and snowy. I could not go in the neighborhood by myself - it was too scary. We were also without a car and we would have to ask for rides from good people (very humbling). Charles spent endless hours studying at the school and so I was left alone for much of the time with my children. We were preparing for a future day. Trying to do what the prophet asked of us - to get an education and have a family. Those days were hard. They really were. I have heard somewhere that it was never promised to be easy, but it was promised to be worth it. Looking back now, it was worth it - no question. Anyhow, back then in Alaska, I spent much of my time reading. I read the words of the Prophets, studied the scriptures, and I prayed a lot. I spent a lot of my time studying the importance of the role of Mother and Father and our responsibilities as parents. I solidified my testimony of the importance of Mothers and their great role in the world. I lit a fire inside of me in regards to protecting and strengthening family. I am so grateful for those times. Even those times which seemed somewhat dark and scary - with the future unknown and uncertain. Passing through those times have made everything since then seem so bright and glorious!

I love being a Mother. It is not an easy job. It is a job that is so worth it. It is a job that is necessary. If all the mothers in the world were to give up and throw in the towel - the world would go the heck in a hand-basket. I believe good strong families are the only thing that could save the world. Perhaps that is why the Family Proclamation is such a great, important revelation for this generation.

I love my family. I love Charles for supporting me as a mother. Without his support I know I would be much weaker. I treasure him and his love for me. I love my children. They bring me such joy and excitement. I express my gratitude for them each day to my Heavenly Father. I know he trusts me to take care of them and to teach them of Him. I do my best. That is what God wants from us, our very best.

Hooray for MOTHERS!!!! Hooray for FAMILY!!!!

-Mari : )