Today's Mother
Just what does a mother do all day?
They work their fingers to the bone.
They push their nerves to the brink.
They use every skill they have just to survive the day.
Little things matter to our kids.
They are the things that meet special needs that say, I love you.
But when a mother's time becomes crowded by competing demands, there is no time
for these little things
These little things really make a difference.
Here is a list of what mothers may have to do in a single day:
- Baby feeder, diaper changer, bather, rocker, burper, hugger
- Listener to crying and fussing and thousands of questions
- Picker upper of food and debris cast on the floor
- Problem solver, determiner of action, and the one who gives those talks to whoever needs them.
- Phone messenger, reminder of responsibilities
- Comforter, encourager, counselor
- Hygienist
- Linguistic expert for two-year-old dialects
- Trainer of baby-sitters
- Listener-- to the husband as well as the children about their day, their needs,
their concerns, their aspirations
- Teacher of everything from how to chew food to how to drive a car
- Assist on school projects (collecting bugs, building paper volcanoes, etc.)
- Questioner, prober to promote thinking
- Censor of TV, movies, books
- Homework helper
- Reader of thousands of children's books (over and over and over)
- Planner and hostess of children's birthday parties
- Planner and hostess of adult dinner parties (for friends, relatives, travelers, and strangers
- Grocery shopper
- Cook and washer of dishes
- Short-order cook for those meals after the family's dinner that growing children must have
- Dispatcher to see that the appliance is fixed or the carpet shampooed
- Executioner of ants, roaches, wasps and other pests
- Resident historian in charge of photo albums, baby books, and school record books
- Resident source of information for all those hard questions that arise
- Officer of the day, on call for any emergency at home or away
- Food preservation expert
- Family secretary, confirming dinner reservations, travel, accommodations
- Corresponder to the sick, the celebrating, or the generous
- Archivist for everything that "must" be kept
- Keeper and locater of birth certificates and other valuable documents
- Washer and ironer of clothes
- Keeper and copier of tax forms
- Calendar keeper for the family's visit to the doctor, the dentist, the orthodontist, the barber,
and the mechanic
- Fitness expert
- Keeper of each family member's daily itinerary
- Cleaner of the oven, the drawers, the closets, the garage, the curtains, the bedding,
the windows, even the walls
- Washer and waxer of cars
- Refinisher of furniture
- Emergency medical technician and "ambulance" driver
Are you tired, yet?
And what else does a mother do?
Well, among many other things, she does these:
- Clip ten fingernails and ten toenails for each young child regularly
- Return library books and videos
- Get film developed
- Choose gifts, purchase gifts, wrap gifts for birthdays, Christmas, Father's Day, Mother's Day,
wedding showers, baby showers, anniversaries, etc,
- Mail packages, buy stamps
- Drop off the dry cleaning; pick up the dry cleaning
- Have pictures framed
- Haul everything that needs repair
- Attend recitals and sporting events
- Attend every school event imaginable
- Chauffeur everyone, everywhere
- Cover for her sick kid on his 4:00 am paper route
- Comb little girl hairdos and little boys
- Replace every battery in everything that ticks, whirls, or beeps
- Help in the classroom
- Become a mandatory volunteer for every fundraising drive
- Participate in most school committees and boards
- Attend school PTA meetings and conferences
- Act as a room mother, making things and organizing parties
- Chaperon field trips and special events
- Coordinate carpools
- Serve as a Scout leader, a Blue Bird leader, an Awana leader, a Sunday School teacher
- Purchase most everything for the family and the home
- Keep relationships healthy with friends and every member on both sides of the family
- Deliver forgotten lunches, forgotten homework, forgotten athletic gear
- Attend church, Bible studies, committee meetings, showers, weddings, choir practices,
board meetings, potlucks, and neighborhood gatherings just to "stay active and informed"
- Return everything everyone buys
- Save lives-- sometimes figuratively... sometimes literally
I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted.
Think about this – there are working moms who do all these things.
And I imagine that there are mothers here who can add to that list.
And remember, we didn't add all that she does for her husband, parents, grandparents, and friends.
Proverbs 31: 10, 27-28 says, "Who can find a virtuous woman?
For her price is far above rubies... She looketh well to the ways of her household,
And eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed;
her husband also. And he praiseth her."
What does a mother do all day?
All these things and so much more.
The vocation of mothering is "a real job," and it takes a lot of love and dedication.
So, we honor our mothers.
We must pray daily for our mothers.
We must do all that we can to lift their load.
Thank God for our mothers.
Sermon by Dr. Harold L. White
