I’ve been thinking of the beauty of the ripple effects of motherhood leading up to Mother’s Day this year. The idea that our motherhood can create a legacy that has such power to affect future generations in a positive way.
Thinking of this quote:
“Homemaking is surely in reality the most important work in the world.
What do ships, railways, mines, cars, government, etc. exist for except that people may be
fed, warmed and safe in their own homes?…The homemaker’s job is one for which all other’s exist.”
–C. S. Lewis
I know there are so many other seemingly glamorous things going on in the world, but I’ve been pondering about the beauty of motherhood, even that old-fashioned “homemaking” C.S. Lewis is talking about.
The messy simplicity of it all, leading to the mired complexity of it all, mixed together as mothers create “new lands” for the rippling unfolding of their posterity.
As the Relief Society President in our church congregation, I’ve been so overcome with some of the stories of women who are braving new territory. They are working so hard to raise their children and give them opportunities they never had. Meeting so many striving women working to lean into their motherhood when we visited Grace’s mission last week inspired me as well.
The Mothers Who Have Paved the Way for Me
Which makes me think of the women who went before me, walking that rocky and often uneven road to change future generations.
It makes me teary to think of them praying for their children. Dressing them in the mornings and brushing their hair. I think of them wringing their hands with tumultuous teenagers. The heartbreaks and the joys. The letting them go, while working to keep them tethered.
Oh yes, this is tricky business.
I think of the overall intensity they have put into their jobs as mothers…
…so that they could raise their children higher. And pave the way for me in the process.
How grateful I am for those mothers who have gone before.
Especially this one who “didn’t plan to be a witch:”
And she wasn’t. She was, and is, the perfect angel mother to me.
So grateful for this mother below who worked so hard to raise my husband to be the one for me:
I’m grateful for this one who raised Abby to be the amazing woman she is:
And this one…oh boy she did such a great job raising Carson:
And so many other examples of those who have put such hard work into the messy, glory of homemaking, fighting to make beautiful things happen.
I sent this painting out to my Relief Society sisters last night in preparation for Mother’s Day:
The thing I love very most about it is the very top: those angels guiding, watching over.
When I stop long enough to find quiet, I can feel that. Actually, sometimes I can feel it right smack dab in the middle of chaos.
Because I believe God is there, and loves these children even more than I do.
I believe Heaven is cheering us on as we try to create that “new world,” all those future generations that will go on long after we are gone.
How lucky we are to try to make our own imprint in them any way we can in this best job in the world.
Oh gosh! This is the best!