Proverbs 23:25 “May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful!”
When our children are small, we imagine nothing more rewarding nor exhausting than motherhood. We delight in the snuggles of our babies while longing for an undisturbed nap, yet consider it a victory to snatch a moment of bathroom-privacy. As our children reach school age, we grieve the loss of tiny hugs and kisses, but our hearts soar watching them develop unique personalities and talents. Then come the teen years: sweetness followed by exasperation; pride followed by painful sorrow. Allowing our children to spread their wings and fly proves more difficult than ever imagined. Such is the commonality of motherhood.
I have often pondered how all of it compares to Mary’s journey. God knits together and definitively assigns our children to us, but God had a special plan for Mary’s son. Her baby was knit with God’s own DNA. Like all first-timers, Mary entered motherhood with little experience. Was she, too, filled with insecurities? I am still amazed at being allowed to leave the hospital with our firstborn in my arms. Surely, they would have stopped me and taken him back had they only known how clueless I was of raising this blue-bundle.
One thing is certain: Mary’s motherhood presented challenges beyond our parental norms. As mother to the Prince, one might assume her to have the best that life could offer; void of heartache and surrounded by riches. This scenario was far from Mary’s reality.
Imagine raising a perfect child in an imperfect world. No other mother, friend, nor relative could relate to Mary’s situation. Because of this, did Mary ever find herself on the outskirts of the social circles of her day? And, what about us? Do we ever exclude from our circles those who fail to fit our norms?
Mary’s hardships were many. Family harmony lay in jeopardy as her home was divided by faith. She remained loyal to the truth of her son’s deity while striving to win the hearts of her other children who were unbelievers. What pain we mothers still feel when our homes are split by differences!
Mary’s ultimate heartbreak came in witnessing her son’s cruel death. This was her precious son whose birth was announced by an entire angel chorus. This was her son whom she and Joseph so desperately shielded as they fled the sword of Herod. This was her baby who nursed her breast, held her hand, sat in her lap, and napped on her shoulder as she sung sweet lullabies. Oh, what strength this mother, and every mother, must possess.
God chose Mary for His highest calling and Mary poured her life into His Son. Her boy, Jesus, grew to defy all boundaries of race, society, culture, gender, and economic standing in a way that transformed people. In spite of many heartaches, Proverbs 23 remains true: Great joy is found in motherhood.
Father God, may all mothers strive to raise children who possess the heart of Mary’s boy.
Blessings,
Rita Cochrane