Jones Onigbinde

Jones Onigbinde – Great Mother Heart …

Mother’s Day is rapidly approaching, but just for a moment let’s forget about the cards and flowers and hastily purchased presents and think about what Mother’s Day really means. About what your mother has really meant in your life, how much she has shaped the person you are today.

As we prepare to celebrate another Mother’s Day, take a moment to step back and ponder the wonders of motherhood. We will be more inclined to celebrate all the mothers out there when we consider the sacrifices they make every day to make our homes and communities a place of joy and peace. The unfailing strength and inexhaustible capacity for love and affection a mother shows.

Consider your own childhood, can you remember a specific time when your mother gave up something for you? It could have been a time where she just wanted to sit down and rest after a hard day at work but instead took you somewhere or did something with you? Perhaps she spent money she was saving for something else to get you something you really wanted? Changed jobs so she could be there when you got home from school?

More importantly, what did you learn from your mother? What values, ethics, and morals did she instill in you? Did she teach by example? Was she kind, but firm? Selfless? Proud and excited of your accomplishments? Comforting and consoling when things didn’t quite go your way? Did she motivate you to do your best, celebrating all the tiny wins along the way?

Now stop for a minute and consider what she must have sacrificed, always putting your needs above her own, your constant champion and confidant.

Though she might have craved those moments of peace and rest, if she ever got them, she instantly missed you. As exhausted as she may have been from work, she still magically found time to make sure your clothes were laundered, your homework was done, you got to whatever after-school activities you were involved in, you were well-fed, and you knew you were the most important thing in the world to her. She never begrudged a moment of it, because her heart beat for you, such is a mother’s love.

Many mothers have put their careers and dreams on hold because of children and family, they’ve shown us unparalleled love and care, so we need to salute them from the bottom of our heart.

By all means, shower your mother with gifts this Mother’s Day … but also, tell her what she meant to you growing up and thank her for putting your needs above her own, because that’s what a mother’s love means and we don’t tell her often enough how inspiring she is and what a difference she’s made in our life.

As we celebrate this mother’s day, let us remember their sacrifice, love, and commitment to our homes, let’s heed the instruction of the Holy Scriptures that says, “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all” – Proverbs 31: 28-29 (NIV).

Sadly, there are those who were less fortunate and did not get to experience the loving energy that comes from ideal motherhood. If you missed out on the warm affection of a loving mother, why not use this Mother’s Day to reach out to those mothers? Find the grace in your heart to forgive them for their inadequacies. By doing this we will be forging a brave new path to reconciliation, releasing the anger and disappointment from our own hearts, and setting a shining example for our own children and the future generations of mothers to follow.