Mother’s Day
- By kaylajwmarnach
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- 11 May, 2017
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The definition of motherhood is, “to look after kindly and protectively, nurture, tend, and raise.” We all need mothering. It makes us feel secure, loved, and helps us know we are worthy. I am blessed because I have a mother provided all of those feelings for me through her love—it’s unconditional.
My dad told me I’d never know how much he loved me until I had a child of my own. At the time I didn’t really believe him because I was married and I loved my husband and our pets. I thought I knew what love was. Wrong! Until I had my first child, I didn’t know what sacrificial love was. He was right, there is no comparison. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for my children, and nothing can make you stop loving your child—not time, distance, or death.
When we connect to other mothers, our foundation of support, understanding, and strength grows. Motherhood is truly one of the most challenging and rewarding roles in life, and having other mothers to interact with and relate to is a gift every mother needs.
So…to all the mom’s out there, I pray you have another mother to walk this path with you.
Mom to mom and heart to heart,
Drawn together from the start,
With guiding wisdom from God’s love,
Learning truth, rising above
The daily strains of worldly woe
By knowing now to Whom to go.
A good example we strive to be
In a love filled home for our family.
Our mission’s clear, our way’s laid out.
We shape and raise our child to sprout.
We cultivate, and prune with care,
Protect and cover our child in prayer.
Blessings gained through joining hands
To guide our child in God’s great plans.
No greater gift can we bestow
Than teaching Truth and helping grow
A godly child within our care,
For they are God’s, they’re His to share.
Kayla Marnach is the author of the Can Do Kids Series. Her newest book, I Can Do That! helps children learn self-regulating techniques. Told through rhyme from a child’s point of view, strategies are shared empowering the child to effectively learn and practice ways they can control their emotions and actions when they feel themselves becoming dysregulated.
Because abuse has no boundaries, nothing is more important than protecting our children. As many as 93% of the victims under the age of 18 know the abuser. Because there is no “typical” abuser, it can happen to any child in any circumstance at any time. It happens to children of the elite and well-educated, as well as the latch-key kids of struggling parents. It can happen at daycare, a friend’s home, or even under our own roof. It occurs in the exclusive neighborhoods, as well as in middle-class areas, and poverty districts. If you think it doesn’t happen in your area, then you are leaving your child vulnerable to become the next victim.
Yet, even when we do what we believe is right, our child can still be abused either mentally, physically , or emotionally. Sometimes we fail, not because we didn’t try, but because we didn’t know any better, are uninformed, or choose to avoid the topic because it’s not easy to talk about. We don’t know how to make the discussion of body boundaries a part of our daily conversation or how to take advantage of teachable moments.
That naivety and avoidance must stop…today.
As parents and caregivers, it is our responsibility—one we must never shirk—to educate ourselves on how to communicate with our children about body boundaries and what to do if abuse is threatened or occurs. When abuse is discovered, we must not shut down in shame, fear, or anger. We can’t go back and undo the event, so we must learn and move forward with greater awareness and armed with tools to prevent reoccurrence. We must be willing to provide whatever our child requires to equip them to understand, accept, and learn they are not to blame for what happened.
Today is the day to make a difference in your child’s life or a child in your care. By your commitment to protect, educate, and empower each child, you are providing a priceless treasure.
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