Pam's Impact of Being a Mother

The Impact of Being a Mother

Asking a woman to share how being a mom has impacted her life would be like asking a President of the United States to share how his love for Americans has played a part in his life history. The blessings of motherhood are so invisibly and wonderfully enmeshed that it’s difficult to take out that interwoven thread of fulfillment and life purpose and imagine an existence without it. The richness of being a mother is perhaps the only topic known to motherhood whose list of benefits only grows more intense as the years go by. For me, its treasures remain inexhaustible.

What a joy to highlight testimonials of a “Motherhood’s Celebration” in my own heart!

Being a mother has:

given me the deepest joy known to mankind - in it I have laughed, pondered, weeped, rejoiced
granted me the opportunity through grandchildren to break the house rules, and it’s ok because I’m “Grammy”
forced me into a deeper relationship with God as I have sought His counsel in molding my children’s attitudes about themselves and others, as well as the difficult issues of life – like learning to forgive and make the most out of circumstances when they didn’t turn out the way you had dreamed
offered the avenue by which God has taught me lessons about my own strengths and weaknesses
given me the opportunity to invest my life in something greater than myself
bestowed on me a shopping partner, my daughter, when it comes to shoes or jeans on sale
gifted me with a life career of celebrating femininity
been a tool by which God has demonstrated His faithfulness in the classroom topics such as patience, self control, pride, heartache, and trusting in His Word
brought great joy to my marriage in that my husband and I have a reason to celebrate God’s goodness in the blending of two families
been a pinnacle point on “this” life’s journey - who knows what awards await mothers on “the other side” of this earthly existence

The impact of motherhood on a woman’s life comes in three stages:

The Precious Stage
The Painful Break-Away Stage
The Put it to Good Use Stage

In the The Precious Stage a young mother unfolds into a person she never knew existed: an individual whose nurturing, nursing, and caring finds its deepest satisfaction into the unfurling of why she was created: to caress, to love, to mold, to kiss, to adore – a time in the child’s life known as dependence. Never does motherhood find its grandest fulfillment above the privilege of a rocking chair, a gentle lullaby song, or an occasional coo.

Then comes The Painful Break Away Stage, that time in a mother’s journey when the children’s season of budding finds its new-found desire in discovering a fresh niche outside the home – a time of independence. It’s one of the most difficult joys and losses a mother faces. A time to let go, pray deeper, trust greater. The empty nest idea serves its description well: the baby birdie leaving the coop when the mother must redefine her life purpose and new role.

Then comes The Put it to Good Use Stage, that ultimate chapter when the children are married and grandchildren surface into the family dynamics. I’m in that stage now, a season labeled emergence, putting to good use all of the valuable treasures I’ve learned through the ups and downs of parenting. The Bible wisely instructs a woman as to her purpose in this new phase: And older women should likewise encourage younger women to love their husbands and children. Titus 2:3-4.

I’m finding this season of motherhood to be the most thrilling reward of them all. It is now that I can invest in the grandchildren and instill in them a crazy “Grammy Pammy” model of a life that points them to praiseworthy values such as integrity, being an honorable citizen, and submission to God. What a blast to play Hide ‘N Seek in the house, or answer the door when they come over dressed up like a clown, or perform a tap dance on the kitchen table! And the best part: it’s totally acceptable and even adored in the eyes of these little ones!

Yet God has been gracious to allow me other opportunities in impacting the lives of others. This coming summer will be the sixth annual statewide Oklahoma Single Mothers’ Conference, Survive ‘N Thrive. As its co-founder and with Governor Henry’s endorsement, this nondenominational conference whose origin began in Oklahoma seeks to bring hope into the lives of hundreds and hundreds of single mothers. God is so gracious to allow me to “put to good use” my difficult life’s journey into a platform that will benefit thousands of other women. With Congresswoman Mary Fallin as my honorable chair of the conference, we seek to enrich the home life of single parent mothers and their children. Other states are now inviting Survive ‘N Thrive to their areas. We’ve been blessed to take the conference to some of the largest churches in the country: Prestonwood Baptist in Plano being one of them. And this January I’ve been asked to speak to members of the Congressional staff in Washington DC about motherhood.

I’m humbled beyond words to be given the opportunity to advance the cause of mothers, all mothers, on a statewide and national level. I know motherhood well! I understand the married mother when faced with betrayal and rejection. I understand the single mother and her plight of raising children alone. I understand the stepparent mother and her new role of “befriending” over “parenting.” And I understand the ‘crowned mother,’ what happens when your children rise up and call you blessed. Motherhood in America today adorns herself with multiple life circumstances, and I’ve been privileged to wear many of them.

Perhaps the greatest impact of being a mother finds its fulfillment when the children become adults and you become a significant person of valor in their eyes because of your nobility of service. To my stepchildren, Ryan and Amber, I am a woman of honor and dignity, a person having lovingly invested in their lives, always promoting their highest potential and qualities. To my immediate children, Jason, and Sara, I am their hero, a woman who over the years made it my goal to forgive their father for leaving me as a single mother when they were two and three years old. I am their hero, a woman who shed years of tears on their behalf. I am their hero, a woman in whom they’ve witnessed God granting extended spheres of influence beyond the family walls. I am their hero, a woman having made a “fashion statement of godliness” before their very eyes. I am their hero, a woman who today walks in humble gratitude for the invisible button they’ve placed upon my heart, “My Mom’s My Hero.” Is there any greater tribute?

What an honor to have experienced the precious moments of being a praying mother, the joy of being a thankful mother, and the anticipation of being an expectant mother as to future “motherly moments” yet to arise. Indeed, the impact of having been entrusted with the name, “Mother,” or Mama,” or “Mommy,” or “Mom” remains the sweetest privilege on this Earth today.