I’ll pour robust well being into her like a river, the glory of nations like a river in a flood. As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you. Issaiah 66:13
The coming week will be filled with special thoughts and deeds for our Mothers. There are many things we can say about Mothers. We can talk about their love, their gentle spirit, their endurance, and their kindness, but there is one thing that I hold dear about these special people, and that is their “being there”heart.
They are there when we are born, when we cut our first tooth, take our first step, start school, graduate, start a job, and the being there characteristic just goes on and on.
There are many examples of the being there quality of Mothers. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the ultimate example of being there. She was there when He was an infant, there when He performed His first miracle, there when He faced his trials, and she was there when He died upon the cross.
Lately, I have been humbled by the being there quality of another much less famous mother by the name of Elsa Mendoza. Elsa is the mother of Fernando Mendoza, the quarterback of the Indianna Hoosiers who won the Heisman Trophy and led his team to a National Championship.
A few days ago, Fernando was the number one draft pick of the NFL picked to go to the Las Vegas Raiders as the first overall pick. Normally, the players and their families gather together in the arena of the chosen city to await the results of the draft, but because it has become increasing difficult for his Mom to make trips, the family gathered at home with her. She is confined to a wheelchair, and the disease contines to progress. In other to allow her to be there for this moment, the family opted to stay together at home to await the results.
Elsa was diagnosed with multiple schlerosis in 2008, but she and her husband did not tell their three boys until 2019 when a Covid diagnosis exacerbated the MS. Elsa balanced work, raising her boys, and setting an example of “being there” for them even while living with MS.
Being a mother is not an easy job, but if we view our role as an assignment from God, and we view it as having eternal consequences, it becomes an honor. Mary’s assignment was serving as the earthly mother of the Son of God and to be there for Him.
Our roles might never be equal to that, but we all need to possess qualities to be there for our children and others, First, being there for our children involves a committment to be the best we can be. Set a great example, and never settle for less.
Next, being there includes loyalty. Being there as a mother might involve putting your children ahead of other minor things, and always accepting the assignment as a priority. It is worth the sacrifice.
Finally, being there includes dependability. They, as well as others, should know that we can be counted upon to live up to the trust and expectations placed upon us. It’s an assignment that has to be taken seriously.
During the second World War millions of Jewish people were killed during the holocaust. Solomon Rosenberg, his wife, two sons, and his parents were arrested and placed in a concentration camp. The rules of the work camp were simple, as along as you could work, you were permitted to live. When you become too weak to work, you are exterminated.
Rosenberg watched his parents marched off to their death, and he knew the next one would be his younger son, David, because he had always been frail. Every evening Rosenberg would return to the barracks after hours of labor and frantically search for his wife and sons. When he found them, they would huddle together and thank God for another day of life.
One day upon his return, he found his oldest son crying. He told his father, “Today, David could not do his work, so they came for him. He was afraid and cried.” Rosenberg was frantic, and said, “Where is he? “Momma took his hand he told his father and said, “There’s nothing to be afraid of, David. I will go with you.”
When God gives us an assignment, He will enable us to do things we never thought possible. Faith enables us to get above circumstances and look to Christ who is over all.
This is the being there part of Motherhood. God says, I will be there with you.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms in my life!