A Hands-On Mom's Thoughts on Mother's Day

There was a time when I wasn't sure if I could conceive and bear a child. A doctor once told me that I might have difficulty getting pregnant due to my medical condition. Although her words cast a shadow on the beautiful future I hoped for, I did not give up my dream of one day having my own children.

I chose to believe that the God who planted a desire in my heart to have a family of my own can and will plant the seed of life in my womb one day.

And so it happened that my dream was fulfilled. God caused the miracle of life to grow inside my womb... not just once, but three times!

It has been almost seven years now since I first became a mother. I now have three children. My eldest child will celebrate his seventh birthday this year. My second child (also a boy) will celebrate his fourth birthday and my third child (another boy) will celebrate his first birthday.

I learned in this short span of time that motherhood is not for the faint of heart. That if a mom would take her responsibility to her child/children seriously, motherhood would not be a walk in the park.

When I was still single, I dreamed that I would be a hands-on mom. I dreamed that caring for my kids would be my primary duty and that I would not be required to work.

Thank God that dream has been fulfilled!

I praise and thank God for the gift of being a mother to these children!

But there are lessons that I also learned about motherhood. 

I learned that motherhood entails sacrificial love. Motherhood means prioritizing the needs of your children over your own. Motherhood means pouring out your life to give life to another.

The above sentences are pretty loaded. Let me make them more specific by sharing how these sentences translate in the life of a mom with young children like me.

Sacrificial love for me means sacrificing my personal goals and preferences (like travelling and pursuing another course) so I can fulfill my God-given role and destiny to raise my kids. Allowing my personal dreams that are in conflict with my role as mom to die at Jesus' feet. Prioritizing the needs of my children over my own means preparing their food first before I eat my meals. Breastfeeding my hungry baby at night or during the wee hours of the morning even though my body screams for rest and sleep. Pouring my life out for my kids means spending my energy and time mainly to care for my children, to educate them and to raise them to be the persons that God wants them to be.

These are just some examples of what a hands-on mom with young children like me do every day. 

Motherhood is not a glamorous job. It's a very demanding and fast-paced job. A job that does not allow me to take day offs or vacations (even on Mother's day) because my young children are still very dependent on me. On days when I don't have a helper/maid and my husband is in the office, I could hardly go to the toilet or bathroom. I could hardly eat (even with my husband around because remember we have three children). With three children, there is always at least one child who needs my attention, my listening ear, my help and my touch.

It's a draining job to be a mother. But I've come to realize also in the past years that it's the most fulfilling job I've ever had! 

I've been a manager, a writer, a trainer, a speaker, a coach, a counselor and an author of books. I found a lot of fulfillment doing these jobs that I'm passionate for. Witnessing growth and transformation in the people I worked with in these roles/jobs of mine filled my heart with much gratitude for the opportunity to make a difference in other people's lives. 

Yet, I discovered that being a mother, being an instrument of God in bringing a child into the world, nurturing that child, raising that child to live out his purpose in life... I could hardly find the words to describe what an honor it is to be able to do this. Motherhood is both humbling and rewarding.   

I love the words of Elisabeth Elliot quoted in my desk calendar today. It says, "The process of shaping the child shapes also the mother herself. Reverence for her sacred burden calls her to all that is pure and good, that she may teach primarily by her own humble, daily example."

It's so true that as I mold my kids' hearts and minds, God is molding me as well. I'm not the only one teaching my kids how to be patient and loving. As I mother them, God is teaching me too! He reminds me daily that in as much as my sons are works in progress, so am I. That more than speaking words of instructions to them, I need to model good behavior, good values to them. 

So, today on Mother's Day, I pray that God would give me grace always to speak with wisdom and that faithful instruction would be on my tongue. That I would not eat the bread of idleness or that I would become too busy with extra curricular matters. Instead, I pray that I would be faithful in living out my God-ordained role to be a mother to my children.   

And if you are a mother who longs to make being a mother your priority over making money, I invite you to check out my newly-launched online coaching program called iHOPE. It's a three-step success system that will help parents become hands-on with their kids while earning money for their families. I created this program because I want to help families by enabling parents through this program to be involved in their children's lives while contributing to the family income.

Click here to learn more about this program.

I strongly believe that God called mothers to have a special role in the lives of their children especially when they are still young. This program is my gift to moms! Read more about it here and email me if you have questions about it. 

Happy Mother's Day to all the hardworking and self-sacrificing moms around the world! May we all be thankful for the gift of motherhood. May we reap the rewards of our sacrificial love. May we have a glimpse of the fruits of our labor in our children's lives. 

What are your thoughts on motherhood? Feel free to share them with me in the comments!