Guest Post: Motherhood, I Will Rejoice in it Forever!

I'm delighted that Cheryl Savage has recovered, sufficiently, from speaking at BYU Women's Conference, in order to share a few of her thoughts on motherhood here with us, on WBMW; and trust me, she has many. But I can assure you, that Cheryl is not the type that would want me, to in anyway, give you the impression that she is a supermom. No. Just the opposite. Cheryl is a realist. And that is why, perhaps, she and I connected in the first place; we are, both, quite frank, about most things in life; and willing to be open in talking to others about the more difficult parts of religion, and life in general. 

Today, I honor Cheryl Savage: a faithful and powerful Mother in Zion...

Being a mother is hard work -- the hardest of work. I always assumed it would be something that would stretch me as a person. I heard the stories; I observed my mother and my aunts gathering around with their children, taking care of meals and healing scratches and letting out sighs of exasperation when we wouldn’t go to bed on time. But until I entered the trenches of motherhood, I could not have imagined what awaited me. 

Motherhood has stretched me beyond anything I thought I could do. It has become my identity forever (for who can claim otherwise when a child gently whispers, “Mommy?”) and it brings to the surface all of my sins and flaws, mistakes and weaknesses. It is a schoolroom, where I find myself following after the only brief patterns I have seen in my life, relying on God, and searching for truth from prophets who know. I am staving off warriors of evil who would ensnare my children. It is an unseen battleground, and I am training as I go.

Motherhood has been the vehicle in which I have sacrificed much of my life. Following the promptings of the Spirit, I have given up and set aside much of who I was and what I thought I wanted in order to give my children what they need. Even interests I believed were helping our family have been given up in the name of Mother. Each sacrifice, each item checked off the list, each moment of letting go has been sanctified by the Holy Spirit of Promise and the knowledge that I do not do it blindly –because the Lord is with me.

Motherhood has given me a faith I didn’t know I held in my heart. Each time I say, “yea, Lord, thy will be done” and bring another child into this world, my courageous faith grows a little. Even when the clouds of my mind (depression) insinuate from a world’s perspective that I should give up and walk away, even when I am told my sacrifice is not needed, even when the rushing of the wind around me claims I am wasting my life… Even when! Because they do not see the tiny souls in my arms, nor the husband at my side, nor the light which resonates from our Rock.

Motherhood is my burden and my joy. I will rejoice in it forever.

BIO:

Cheryl has been blogging for many years about --but not limited to --her children (there are six), her husband (there is one), her depression (not fun), her travels (very fun!), her religion (loves it), and anything else that strikes her fancy. Right now she's probably reading a book or changing a diaper, maybe at the same time...

www.cherylthoughts.blogspot.com

BYU Women's Conference: Cheryl Savage: In Which I Spoke to Women about Womanhood and Motherhood