Nurtured

"By divine design...Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children." (Family Proclamation, paragraph 7)

Just this morning, I longed for the nurturing of a mother. Hadn’t I just cared for my little ones…one at a time…before they passed the sickness to me? Where is my mom, when all I can do is moan on the couch?

Of course, I know right where my mom is. Physically she is spending her days in service (as she always has) on a mission for our church; but that’s not all, because she is here with me too.

I may not have been bright enough as a child to let her teach me how to make bread, sew, and clean; but I did learn how to nurture, and it had little to do with the advice you might find in popular parenting magazines. A family is a hard place to hide imperfections, and we were as naked as the next; but in the end we are covered with covenants kept.

 

I love being a mother…and some days I think I’m pretty good at it; others…not so much. Those bad days would be enough to do me in with guilt and self doubt if I didn’t know about the back up plan.

We had a huge family growing up, and I often felt like one of the many. Really, how could one mother reach so many, cover so many bases…every day? Impossible really…on her own. I think she learned early to let go of perfection and cling tightly to the covenants she had made with the Lord.

Covenants that have greater strength than even a consistent discipline plan. Covenants that can reach through generations and bind family close, regardless of daily mistakes. Covenants that I have made with my Father, and my family.

So she does comfort me now, from a distance, and I know that even though my house will probably take a thrashing before I get back in the game, my family will be held close and covered.

Wordfull Wednesday @ Chocolate on my Crainium