The Sanctifying Beauty of Motherhood

Like so many things in life, motherhood is hard. The list of reasons why could carry on endlessly- from the physical sacrifices of childbearing and birth, sleep deprivation, and breast feeding (should you be willing and able to nurse) to the emotional sacrifices that naturally come with such massive changes to your life and your marriage. Becoming a mom means putting your children first, and often our relationship with our spouses experiences strain upon the initial welcoming of new life into the world. Growth always comes with growing pains.

In the culture we live in, motherhood is seen as something that should be deeply considered before jumping in. We are often told as women to be wary of starting a family and really make sure we are “ready”. It can be viewed as heroic if your discernment leads to the conclusion that your list of personal goals should come first or if “it’s just not the right time”. Women who make the decision not to welcome children are often commended for their self-awareness and ambition. In a world that promotes individualism and self-expression at all costs, it is accepted and encouraged to live a life propelled by your own desires and whims. The idea that women should have the ability to pour themselves into a career or other hobbies is viewed by many as tremendous positive progress for society. Why should we be confined to the traditional roles of wife and mother? How primitive to think that the women of before could not fully delve in to all the dreams of their heart. How sad to consider being tied down to the label of “housewife". After all, if you decide to be a mom when you aren’t fully prepared, the looming fear of potential resentment and emptiness is sure to set in.

Young mothers who defy these narratives are often viewed as people who have lost themselves in their children by their more modern, trendier counterparts. They are so often labeled as women who should be either judged or pitied and will never get to explore all that life has to offer them. More choices and more freedom are the key to happiness, right?

This is so heartbreakingly wrong. The enemy would love for us to buy into these notions, trading the fulfilling roles God has created just for women to worship at the altars of self-reliance, self-care, and success. What about motherhood makes it so prone to attacks, both spiritual and cultural alike? In our cushy, comfort-seeking culture, pain is always seen as something to be avoided at all costs. This false idea is starkly contrasted by Christ’s life, crucifixion, death, and resurrection. Our Savior has shown us that pain gives way to life-giving transformation. We are only kidding ourselves if we think that any sort of fulfillment could ever come out of a self-serving, comfortable life. Motherhood is a one-stop-shop of sorts for sanctifying and purifying discomfort. Mothers know better than anyone how pain can alter the world and change the course of history.

"Honor her for all the that her hands have done, and let her works bring praise at the city gate." Proverbs 31:31

There is no work more worthwhile than that of a mother. What an overwhelming honor we women get to partake in- to aid our Lord in the creation of life itself.

"For you formed my inward parts. You knitted me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:19

There was only one man on this earth who affected such a tremendous change with the sacrifice of His own body, and that is Jesus Christ Himself. Christ gave His life for us to have a chance at life eternal. Women are offered the unique experience to give their lives for the life of their children. Those most holy words uttered by our Savior and King, “This is is my body which is given up for you,” are realized in the way a mother sacrifices her own body to create new life and bring it forth into the world. Perhaps what is even more miraculous is the immense joy this self-denial brings. Those brave enough to pursue such a calling soon find that it overshadows any worldly sense of happiness. Motherhood provides joy that only comes from the Creator Himself.

We are doing women a disservice by affirming anything else.

-Tess