Think Beyond a Hallmark Card: Be Mom-Affirming

Adam's Eve ♦ May 8, 2013 ♦ 3 Comments

If you were to quantify the amount of work a mother does in the home and with the children into dollar amounts, she would be making less this year than she did the previous two years. 

This story came up on my TV yesterday when I was watching the news. I was equally disgusted and saddened by this news. Mothers out there don’t need to know that what they’re doing isn’t worth much when the exact reality is true. Mothers are investing in the future generations. You can’t quantify that or put a price tag on it or measure a paycheck amount by that! 

They carry a child for nine months and then go through excruciating birth pains, but the blood, sweat, and tears don’t stop there. Dirty diapers. Fussy kids. Sibling squabbles. Fast forward and you’re into pre-teen and teen years of drama, the opposite sex, fashion crises, acne, awkward body shape, and the potential for more dangerous introductions into drinking, drugs, porn, sex, etc. Then the kids leave for college or to go out into the workforce and mom has to let go, and perhaps someday the child gets married and the bonds of mother-child will never be the same.

Now I am not a mother yet. But I had a wonderful mother who deserves all the credit, accolades, and encouragement she can get!

Craig from Intentionally Yours Marriage Ministries writes, “Society has driven mothers away from their design by our Creator.“

There is no higher calling than being a wife and a mother. The Bible certainly praises women who choose to follow this calling – Sarah, mother of Isaac; Jochebed, mother of Aaron, Miriam, and Moses; Hannah, mother of Samuel; Naomi, mother-in-law to Ruth; Bathsheba, mother of Solomon; Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist; and Mary, mother of Jesus.

This Mother’s Day purpose to be Mom-Affirming! 

Think beyond a chocolate box, flowers, and a card. The most important thing you can do for a mom is to love her unconditionally, and let her know that her work is of value. 

Romantic Ideas for Husbands to do for Their Wives

• If you’re a husband and you & your wife have kids, affirm your wife’s calling as a wife and mother. Give her some “mom” time off by taking care of the kids, or arrange for a sitter and take her out for a special dinner to her favorite restaurant. If you can, splurge and go dancing or get tickets to a movie or a live theater showing.
• Help the kids pick out or make special gifts for mom. I remember one year, my sisters and I put on a little skit to show mom how much we loved her. My husband has a funny story – his dad would take him and his brother to the store and for several years in a row, and they bought the exact same thing – big fake diamond jewelry. Well, it’s the thought that counts.
• Here’s a great suggestion I read for husbands to do for their wives: make a coupon book. Give her some time off from her “mommy duties.” Offer to make breakfast for the kids one morning so she can sleep in. Take the kids to the playground so she can have an hour to herself.  Volunteer to do a household chore she dislikes for a whole week. Draw a bubble bath for her while she gets the kids to bed, complete with candlelight and a neck massage.

Ideas for Children 

• Older kids can make coupon books too. When my mom was homeschooling my sisters and I, and I was in 8th grade, I offered to teach my siblings school for a day so mom could have a day off. You don’t have to be that extreme. You could offer to make dinner one night, do one extra chore so mom can enjoy some down time, or offer to drive siblings to school, practice, an event, etc.
• For grown children, treat your mom to a special lunch so she doesn’t have to cook, and make sure she orders dessert! 
• For moms and daughters, do some fun mother-daughter activity together. When I was a kid, I used to love Mama date nights where mom and I would go out together. Do something fun together like getting your nails done, swimming, bargain shopping, or a picnic in the park.
• If you can’t be there in person, send your mother a lovely gift. Try a certificate to a spa or restaurant or even a gas card so she can enjoy a weekend away. I surprised my mother and brought her on a trip to Vegas with my husband and his family a year ago. Make something special for her – a card, baked goodies, homemade soap, etc.
• I love this idea from DIY Life – make a memory journal. Compile photographs, memories, stories, and mementos from your childhood in a scrapbook album.

I don’t want to be in a generation where we under-appreciate and under-value, or worse, ignore our moms! 

• Perhaps you didn’t have the greatest childhood, maybe this is the time to try and make amends with your mother and love her like Jesus.
• Regardless of where you are in life right now, do something special for a mother this weekend – whether it be your own mom or your spouse’s mom, whether it be a friend or neighbor, or maybe even a complete stranger. Do one random act of kindness to let that mother know just how special she is, and that people notice her and care for her.

What if You’re Not a Mom Yet?

• If you aren’t a mother yet, but you have a “little bun in the oven,” take a moment to praise God for His precious gift of life and pray with your husband for your future as parents and for the future of your child also. Seek out the wisdom of other parents who already have children.
• For a mom to be, give her a special journal to write down her thoughts, feelings, prayers, and concerns about being a mother and to give her an opportunity to write to her future child. I would love to do this someday and give the journal to my kids when they graduate high school.
• If you’re married, but without kids, like Adam and I, take this time to enjoy your life and serve God wholeheartedly together. Consider creating a pre-kids bucket list of all the things you’d like to do together (or that would be easier to do together) before kids, and purpose to do 1-3 of them this year! (And don’t forget to thank your mothers for bringing you life!)

Check out The Romantic Vineyard for some other great romantic Mother’s Day ideas!

*Don’t forget you can join the party and add your marriage-affirming and mom-affirming posts to the BHE Marriage Moments Mondays link-up through Sunday night at 11PM MDT.*

Here I am with my mother and grandmother! I love you both so much!

Linking Up With:

“Messy Marriage: Real. Raw. Redemptive.”

Simply Helping Him

“To Love, Honor, and Vacuum…when you feel more like a maid than a wife and a mother.”