Why God Made Mothers
I woke up this morning with the following verses forming in my head, so in honor of Mother’s Day (and at the risk of stating the obvious) here’s why I think God gave us mothers:
Why God Made Mothers
by Jennifer Flanders
For giving birth — as moms do best,
For nursing babies at her breast,
For singing lullabies at night
For soothing fears and hugging tight,
For wiping teardrops from my eye
And sympathizing when I cry
While kissing boo-boos on my knee,
For bringing out the best in me,
For teaching me to tie a lace,
For using spit to clean my face,
For rocking me upon her lap
Cajoling me to take my nap,
For baking cookies by the batch,
For making sure the doors are latched
At night before she goes to bed,
For placing cold rags on my head
Whenever I am feeling sick
And fetching throw-up buckets, quick!
For bringing me “just one more” drink,
For understanding how I think,
For daily lifting me in prayer,
For combing tangles from my hair,
For teaching me to blow my nose,
For scrubbing stains out of my clothes,
For reading stacks of picture books,
For complimenting my good looks
And calling me endearing names,
For driving me to football games,
For watching o’er me as I play,
Correcting when I disobey,
For letting me help wash the dishes
After dinner — so delicious,
Coaxing me to eat green beans,
For being patient in my teens,
For measuring how fast I grow,
For holding on, for letting go,
For all the many things you do,
I’m grateful, Mom, God gave me you.
Want more resources for celebrating Mother’s Day? You can find lots of them at our family website by following this link: Free Mother’s Day Printables
Jennifer, would you allow reprinting of this poem in a UMC newsletter? With attribution, of course.
Sure, Durenda. I’d be honored!
Jennifer,
I have to say this: I ABSOLUTELY LOVE your posts! I discovered your website digging through the internet for about a month now, and it has given me SO much to think about! I can only thank God for giving you this gift that is your writing and creativity, and for the opportunity that you have to share all you thoughts and lessons with others! I come from a very dysfunctional family, and it came to a point that – even though I am romantic, dreamer and believer by nature – I just lost all hopes that I could ever have anything different than what I had experienced with my parents. But then, a year from now, God’s grace reached me, and it’s like I could finally breathe, and start dreaming all those dreams again, and it’s been amazing!! And now after reading these tips from you, and reading about your life at home I’m always like: GOD, I WANT THAT!! You will never know how much it means to me to realize that families like yours still exist, and that with God by my side I can reach every unimaginable things, like raising a happy and functional family with a caring and loving husband! Your blog is like a breath of fresh air to me, keep up with the good work, you have no idea how much God is using you to change others lives through your blog – including mine!!
Sending you warm hugs all the way from Brazil!
God bless!
Your message just made my day, Debora. Thank you for those encouraging words. God is so good. I pray that He will bless you beyond all your hopes and dreams and will restore the years the locusts have eaten!
That was just beautiful! Thanks for posting!
What a precious Mother’s Day gift. This brought back many sweet memories. I love you! Mom
I love you, too, Mom. I intended to flag you when this poem posted to Facebook, but the Internet where we’re staying in Missouri has been really glitchy. So glad you found it on your own. I knew you’d recognize lots of those lines. Couldn’t find a rhyme for “Leading me door-to-door in search of a playmate,” or “Shopping for school clothes with mismatched shoes, or I would have included those, too. They’re some of my favorite memories of growing up with you for a mother!