The Love of a Mother – May 14, 2000
No matter how well prepared a woman may be for a child, motherhood inevitably challenges the far reaches of her soul. On an ordinary day, she may feel as though she’s not up to what’s required of her. She marvels at all that’s entrusted to her care. Not only is her child physically dependent on her for a time, but spiritually and emotionally she comes to understand how important her own example and teachings are.
While she ushers her child into a world filled with opportunities for growth and development, she tries to find answers and overcome her own weaknesses. A mother learns and grows as she watches her child learn and grow. Bruce Hafen explains: “A child is an echo chamber. If he hears the sounds of love from his mother, he will later speak those same sounds of love to others.”1 And so a mother alters her tone of voice, changes her expectations, expands her level of tolerance, and comes to know more about love than she imagined possible. Her child’s voice is different from hers, even if the child repeats what she’s saying. She learns to respect this difference, and finds within it the soul work of passing on the best within her—and then loving enough to let the child go.
This sacred bond between mother and child becomes more meaningful with every passing year. First as children and then as adults, character is carved and identity discovered—for the mother and the child—by loving and serving each other. This willful welding of spirits requires both mother and child to embrace one another in humility and respect. When all is said and done, a mother’s life and sacrifice are best honored by her child—loving, teaching, and caring for another generation of children.
Program #3691
1. “The Moral Influence of Women,” talk given by Bruce C. Hafen, World Congress of Families II, Geneva, November 17, 1999.