The phrase “the heart of a mother” has become a cliche in our society. It’s used to depict the immense maternal love and instinct that bonds each mother-child relationship. This overused sentiment has become a band-aid phrase, used to excuse and justify the mediocre motherhood our society has come to praise. The heart of a mother is far more than one’s ingrained maternal love, and carries an impact far larger than the kissing of booboos and braiding of hair.
Let us first define the heart as one’s control center, the inner self which guides and provokes our every thought, feeling, and behavior. We are told in Proverbs 23:7, “As he thinks in his heart, so he is”; let this be a convicting truth and invitation for self evaluation. To further understand the weight of one’s heart, let us also examine the words of Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” The heart of a mother is more than maternal instinct; it carries an immense weight of influence and responsibility. In a society that praises the weary-hearted mother for sharing her despair towards motherhood, it has become normalized to view this high calling as a burden. The mother sets the tone for the home and family, so if her heart is weary and burdened her home will show it, and her children will feel it. We must guard our hearts. This means seriously evaluating what we allow to influence us, especially on social media. It is easy to become trapped in the trend of “real motherhood” which glorifies unkempt houses, microwave meals, and the use of YouTube as a virtual babysitter. If this mediocrity is what our minds are consumed with, our hearts will soon be tempted to stoop to this level.
This is not to imply that the weight a mother carries in caring for her family and home is not heavy; rather to emphasize the impact her heart holds. If we shift our focus from the mediocre motherhood bred from a weary heart, and instead seek a heart of reverence and selfless love, we will begin to view our children as the blessings they are. Instead of accepting the world’s twisted perception of our God-given role, let us embrace this role as the sanctifying, blessed, high calling it is. When we view motherhood as a sacred calling, our tone changes. We become thankful for the messes because of the tiny hands that made them, thankful for dirty dishes because of the tiny mouths and full bellies that dirtied them, and joyful in the daily trials because of the tiny souls we’ve been entrusted to nurture and disciple. The heart of a mother is far more than a maternal instinct; it is a tone and attitude that either points her children towards Christ or deters them from Him; and therefore, the weight is immense and the impact is eternal.
