When a baby is born so is a mother. Along with giving life to a child, she also brings into being the multifaceted journey of motherhood. The journey that denotes significant transition from one phase to another.
Every mother encounters motherhood uniquely and however much one is prepared to enter into this chapter, there is never a perfect template or concept for it. It’s overwhelming and exhaustive to say the least but it’s also a very special undertaking and it touches all of us. We are all connected through motherhood because if you are not a mother, you have a mother or better yet, you know a mother or are preparing to be one.
From the very beginning, all women entered into a partnership with God that is depicted by their carrying of wombs. This partnership allows life to be created and shaped inside the womb. In other words, a woman’s womb is symbolic of life, birth and motherhood.
It’s impractical to think of motherhood and fail to think of service. To be a mother is to be ready to lead a life of service and not expect back that service. It’s a selfless full-time job equivalent to the labour of love.
Their life of service entails laying down their needs for the sake of their families, donating all their time to family because once you sign off the motherhood deal, you can no longer be first and also ensuring that their memory only focusses on family issues and not their own personal issues anymore. Most of their worries are related to family.
It’s without a doubt that mothers are a representation of exceptional strength. With all the dozen hats they put on and numerous expectations placed on them, it’s only fair to ask how they strike a balance especially because they too have needs. Other than bringing up their young ones and budding families, they also have areas that touch on their identity, their work or careers, their hobbies, their spiritual life, physical needs such as sleep, exercising and eating.
Can motherhood, as fulfilling as it may seem, leave women with less satisfaction in life? Just how do they feel about relinquishing their own personal space and individuality for the sake of their families? Their duties are many and most revolve around immense care work, which is so involving yet very difficult to measure. It becomes very devastating if one decides to weigh their care work on a task-based system because there is very little to show for it. While it is possible to look at motherhood as a thankless job, it’s good to encourage mothers that it’s not an instant pay off job and that’s what service is all about.
Working mothers have to make an adjustment between raising their kids and advancing their corporate identity. A working mother might at times feel guilty for not being fully present in the lives of her little one’s while a stay-at-home mum might feel judged.
Is there a safe option for mothers? Mothers play a vital role. They raise nations by raising their kids.
A lot of their sacrifices go unnoticed, but they still push on with service. Motherhood limits and negates their full potential, still they hold on to service. Sometimes they suffer emotional tug of war in trying to fix and keep up with the journey, yet they don’t quit the service, even when they run on empty, they still show up. They know to be a mother is to be resilient. To be a mother is to have an inherent nature of sacrifice in you because motherhood is a life of service.
The writer is an administrative assistant
By Nancy Muthoni Ndichu