Most children and teenagers these
days run hither and thither about their lives, occasionally stopping by at home
to play a video game, eat, or go to bed. But other than that, the average kid
spends about as little of their time as possible communicating with their
parents, and only about 3% is spent actually talking,
if at all. They spend their almost all of their time playing with friends and
participating in school sports, extra classes, parties, late nights at a friend’s
house, and other activities; most are degrading to their character in the most
unseemly ways, until finally the parents notice big issues with children such
as rebellion, lying, and an unfortunately prevalent case of suicide. Children
or teens hardly know their parents. Why? It’s pretty simple. Parents and
smaller children in the family just seem to “get in the way” of the “ambitions”
of a child.
Most kids don’t realize how much
their parents do for them. Habits of ingratitude let us forget about the
worries and cares of family, and we think only about our current predicament,
such as fussing how 7-year-old Sally spilled toothpaste over new forty-dollar
jeans.
My mom is very different from the
thousands of “normal” moms out there in this world. Instead of getting a nice
job, having a few kids (and sending them off to be “parented” by other
teachers), she stayed at home and had nine
children, ages 19-3. And her parents weren’t superheroes like The Amazing
Wonder-Woman and Daringly Dauntless Dad. Actually, my grandpa died when my mom
was six years old, so she didn’t get to grow up with a father-type figure in
the home.
My mom homeschooled everybody in our
family, and didn’t moan and groan about how “Billy spilled the milk and it ran
under the fridge” or “Frank thought lighter fluid was more interesting than
playing legos”—or, one of my last common mistakes, “over-watering all the
plants in the house which introduced our newest bug problem—whitefly—indoors.” *smile*
President Ezra Taft Benson stated:
“It is a fundamental truth that the responsibilities of motherhood cannot be successfully delegated. No, not to day-care centers, not to schools, not to nurseries, not to babysitters. We become enamored with men’s theories such as the idea of preschool training outside the home for young children. Not only does this put added pressure on the budget, but it places young children in an environment away from mother’s influence. Too often the pressure for popularity, on children and teens, places an economic burden on the income of the father, so mother feels she must go to work to satisfy her children’s needs. That decision can be most shortsighted. It is mother’s influence during the crucial formative years that forms a child’s basic character. Home is the place where a child learns faith, feels love, and thereby learns from mother’s loving example to choose righteousness. How vital are mother’s influence and teaching in the home—and how apparent when neglected!”
Most
of go around on our day-to-day lives thinking about school, fun activities we
like to do, shopping, day-dreaming, playing with friends, clothes, hobbies,
hair, the next math assignment, and a hundred other projects. Maybe we should
take a second to pause and think about the last time your mom gave up one of
the aforementioned things to help you. I think we’ve all had times where we
realize that Mom did something to help us, and we forgot to say thank-you. Did
Mom unplug your hair straightener before you left for church? Say thank you.
Maybe she helped finish dinner so you could go outside and play basketball when
you got your work done late. Who cleans up the gross mess when someone gets sick
and throws up? Mom. Or maybe she helped you submit an art contest
submission—the day it was due . . . at 10:00 p.m. . . .
The point is, lots of kids today
don’t think much about (or care) how their Mom’s feel. We
should be thinking about one of the ultimate examples of motherhood in the
scriptures—Mary, the mother of Christ. Wouldn’t we be honored if an angel
appeared to our Mom and said, “The Lord is pleased with you.”?
Luke 1:28 “. . . Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.”
“If you, mothers, will live your religion, then in the love and fear of God teach your children constantly and thoroughly in the way of life and salvation, training them up in the way they should go, when they are old they will not depart from it. I promise you this; it is as true as the shining sun; it is an eternal truth.”
Below
I wrote the top ten reasons why I am very blessed to have a Mom like mine:
1. She
doesn’t try, she does
2. She
respects my Dad’s decisions
3. She
is patient with all of us kids, who are extremely un-normal in a worldly sense
:D
4. She
works hard--she makes sure the bills are paid on time and stuff gets done.
5. She
feeds us healthy food—it costs a lot more, too!
6. She
takes time to talk to us
7. She
talks to us after an argument to get problems cleared up
8. She
never takes a break from work when she’s sick unless she has to lay down.
9. She
keeps her clothes nice and tidy in the closet—she is a good organizer
10. She
does not waste time on herself—I don’t ever remember seeing her watch TV or go
shopping for fun
I hope we take a little bit of time
and start thinking about how much our Moms help us and how much they mean to
us.
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