My Prayer for Mothers

When I was doing my clinicals on the Mother-Baby unit, I would watch as the clinical staff would attend to the new mothers. Throughout the caring process, the staff would only refer to the new mothers as “Mama” or “Mom”.

I hated it.

At the time, I didn’t understand why hearing the mom being referred to as “mom” would annoy me.

It didn’t bother them.

There is nothing wrong with being a mom or even being called mom. I knew this!

So why was I so worked up?

Losing Yourself

It is no revalation that motherhood is hard and drenched in sacrifice. You cannot become a mother and remain the same. Women give of their bodies, time, money, energy, and mental space for their children in ways many others involved in the child-rearing process do not.

As a consequence, I used to fear motherhood with a passion. I could not imagine losing myself forever in order to raise another human.

During these clinicals I was seeing one of my worst fears happening right before my eyes. To me, the woman was no longer herself.

She was mama.

Athough the staff knew her name, they did not see her as her own person, but as her role.

A mother.

My Prayer for Mothers

Most moms never say they regret becoming a mother no matter how hard it is to raise children.

Motherhood is difficult but it is also truly amazing. You rarely hear a mother go into details about their motherhood struggles when they talk about their kids. Trust me!

All I hear from my coworkers are about their kids’ achievements, quirks, and hobbies.

And I love that!

I love moms who love being moms. However, there is a personal prayer that I have for all of the moms out there. Whether you (if you are a mom) would like to receive this is up to you. As I said, it is a personal prayer of mine for both myself (if I ever become a mom) and for other mamas.

I pray that every mother finds themselves again.

This is not a prayer that mothers would go back to who they were before kids. Rather, I pray that they relearn themselves as both mothers and as their own person. And since everything changes after motherhood, the key word in this prayer is “again”.

My hope is for women who are mothers to find their interests, learn new hobbies, make friends outside their home, and to take time to themselves when they need it.

We are more than our roles to others.

Knowing this, I pray that every woman with children (regardless of their age) has found themselves again. And if not, I pray that you do.

With Love,

The Road Writer