Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms in my blog family. Motherhood is one of the most rewarding jobs on earth…but it’s not easy. If it were, it wouldn’t start with something called “labor!” At the end of this post, you’ll see a lovely printable to remind you of just how important your role as a mom is, not only to your children, but also to the world. I encourage you to share this post with your own mom, or a friend who might need a bit of applause.
Steve, Steven, and I pulled up our chairs at a cowboy barbecue in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It was a ho-down sure ‘nough. About 500 of us pretend cow pokes sidled up to paper covered tables with steaming plates of chow.
Once every one settled in, we began the usual banter of “where ya’ll from?” and “what do ya’ll do?” Across the table from me sat a family of four from Birmingham, Alabama: a dad, mom,and two clamoring giggling little girls, ages eight and ten.
At one point, a man a few seats down asked Mary THE question, “Ma’am, what do you do?” She hung her head and said, “Oh, I’m just a mom. I don’t have a job.”
My son cut his eyes over to me with a mouthful of baked beans mid-chew. He braced himself for what was sure to come.
It did.
“Excuse me, darlin’,” I said. “You never need to use the words ‘just’ and ‘mom’ in the same sentence. You have the most important job of anybody at this table. You are raising those two precious girls: creating order out of chaos; ensuring their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being; bringing continuity to your family in a fast-changing world; and shaping and molding the individuals who will one day contribute to the future of our community and nation.”
I think Mary was sitting up just a little straighter by the time we finished our “conversation,” and I don’t think she’ll ever use the words “just” and “mom” in the same sentence again.
After I returned to North Carolina, I wrote a poem in honor of mother’s with that little gal in mind. It’s based on the seven qualities from my book, Being a Great Mom, Raising Great Kids.
Click here to download a free printable of this poem.
Happy Mother’s Day!
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Being a great mom reminds me of the story of a world famous violinist. An admiring fan ran up to him one day and cried, “Mr. Kreisler, I’d give my life to play as you do!” To that he replied, “Madam, I did.” Being a great mom is a diligent investment of sacrifices that reaps dividends with compounded interest over time. If you’d like to sharpen your parenting skills, check out my book, Being a Great Mom-Raising Great Kids. It is a storehouse of encouragement for one of the most important jobs on earth.
Comments 9
This is a beautiful poem. Thank you!!! No matter what do we do, a lot of times we feel like it is not enough. We constantly compere with other women and we think they are better than us. We constantly forget that our job is the MOST precious job given from God. Being a homeschool mom, puts me constantly in a situation like that, because a lot of people send their kids to a school, they think we don’t know how to do something else, more than being “just a mom”. Thank so much for such an incredible and awesome encouraging poem. God bless you Sharon!!!
Sharon, I read your beautiful poem and I still struggle so much being a Mom. My children are grown and I feel abandoned by them, especially by my son and his wife. I recently lost my own Mom, in fact on New Years Day. I have read a great deal of your books and blogs and I will be attending a few of your upcoming conferences. You are a great inspiration and encouragement to me. I pray that I can gain the strength each day to be the Mom that the Lord created me to be and silence the lies of the enemy.
What a beautiful post and beautiful poem, Sharon! Thank you for the printable!
Happy Mother’s Day! Hope your day is filled with blessings and love!
Sharon, your words never cease to inspire and encourage me. You paint pictures in my mind with your gift of translating God’s love and direction through practical application. I donated one of your books, “ENOUGH” to the library at the women’s prison that I facilitate a church service every Sunday afternoon. I have read excerpts from the book and the ladies were touched by the hope of knowing that even as they serve time they are being prepared to rise above the idea of being a failure to becoming all God has purposed them to be. Thank you for your beautiful ministry as you share your life with us.
Happy Mother’s Day to you too!! Beautiful poem!! And to all of the moms on Sharon ‘s blog!!Happy Mother’s Day!!💛🌺🌼🌸💛
Thank you Sharon for this awesome story! There are way too many mothers out there who think they are “just moms”. It is one of the hardest most rewarding jobs ever!! I work outside the home, but I still have my “mom job” to do as well. Have a blessed Mother’s Day!
Beautiful poem Sharon. Well said.
I pinned this to Pinterest on my Gifts for mothers board.Please stop by. I agree, that there is no such thing as just a mom. I felt that way doing daycare, just a babysitter, even now, just a blogger. I heard all about the ” real job ” thing, I know how it feels.
The best title I ever received. Beautiful post.