I had the privileged of speaking in church on Mother's Day. It was a hard talk to prepare for. I wanted to make sure I honored all types of mothers, not just those who physically have had a child.
TALK:
Good Morning! Happy Mother’s Day! I pray that each one of you have a glorious day and celebrate motherhood, all types of motherhood, with your families and friends today.
My name is Tiffany Strong. My husband, Will, and I have two adorable boys Max who is almost 3 and Dexter who is 9 months.
I grew up in New Jersey. I have a younger brother who lives in New York. I came out to Utah in 2001 after joining the church in 2000. I ran Cross Country for BYU and was studying to be an elementary school teacher. I actually never thought of myself as a wife, but I did picture myself to be a mother. I wanted children more than anything, so what did I do, I became a teacher. Automatic Children. And for the first 3 years after I graduated I mothered 6th graders. I loved them. They became my children, my family, and honestly my whole life. I loved teaching, I still love teaching. It is the one thing in my life I know I am good at.
In 2007 this bald headed man walked into my classroom. He was my new reading tutor. At first I wasn’t sure if I could trust him with my students, but as I got to know him I grew to love him. I married this amazing man in June of 2008. And guess who were most of the guests at our wedding? My students.
Motherhood is something that I wished for that I dreamed about. Even though I was a teacher, I still wanted to have my own children.
Motherhood is giving, Motherhood is hard, Motherhood is full of joy, Motherhood is full of long nights, early mornings, and a lot of worry. Motherhood is charity.
President Howard W. Hunter said:
‘Motherhood is near to divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind.’ The priesthood cannot work out its destiny, nor can God’s purposes be fulfilled, without our helpmates. Mothers perform a labor the priesthood cannot do. For this gift of life, the priesthood should have love unbounded for the mothers of their children.
Mothers give of themselves each day. They do acts of love in the largest and smallest ways to help their children and to keep their family strong.
In President Monson’s talk in 2010 “Charity never Faileth” he states:
Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down. It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they truly are. It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time. It is resisting the impulse to categorize others.
Think of a time in your life when your own mother accepted something that you did just because she loved you? It could be as simple as a haircut you had, a friend you made, or accepting your career path when no-one else believed in you.
My mom did this over and over with me. She accepted the many different paths I took until I found the one I was sure about. When I joined the church in December of 2000 my mom was the one who supported me, she took the missionary discussions with me, and she took me shopping for my baptism dress. She wasn’t sure of the new religion I was joining, but she trusted me, and accepted my decision. My mom could have said no, could have talked negatively about the LDS church, and could have been mad about my life choice, but she instead put her feelings aside and made me feel good about the decision I made.
What a huge blessing!
President Monson goes on to say in the same talk:
In a hundred small ways, all of you wear the mantle of charity. Life is perfect for none of us. Rather than being judgmental and critical of each other, may we have the pure love of Christ for our fellow travelers in this journey through life. May we recognize that each one is doing her best to deal with the challenges which come her way, and may we strive to do our best to help out.
My Mom passed away five years ago. She had stage four melanoma cancer. The ironic part of my mom’s illness is that my mom was a nurse and worked in radiation oncology for 25 years. So it was very hard to keep anything from my mom when she was in the hospital because she knew all of the doctors and the terms of cancer. What was amazing to me was even though my Mom was the patient she never acted like one. She was concerned about every single person that entered her hospital room, asking each individual about their family, their life, and how they were personally doing. And you know what, people told my mom! They shared stories with her, and she listened. This happened day after day, month after month. My moms room became a room of comfort.
My mom was a nurse, she was charitable each day, she was a mother to many.
The greatest blessing my mother did for me was to leave me a very detailed baby book. When I became pregnant with Max I had so many questions. My Dad would try to answer them, but a lot of things he didn’t remember. He found my baby book and inside was a week by week telling of how my mom’s pregnancy was and how she felt. It was such a comfort to know that my mother when through the same hardships being pregnant that I went through.
Now…my mom wasn’t in labor for 54 hours like I was…only the truly lucky can be in labor that long…
Max made me a mother almost 3 years ago. I would sit and hold him and pinch his chubby cheeks and wonder what I did to deserve such an amazing boy. Max has sure given me many days and nights of worry, but I wouldn’t take any of those days back. I would do it all over again.
Mary F Foulger stated that:
As a mother I have made mistakes. Regardless of culture or country, we all make mistakes in our mothering. But through repentance and the atonement of Jesus Christ, and by continually communicating his love, miracles can happen, wrongs can be righted. Never give up. Never let your arms hang down.
Will’s mother has showed me time and time again that giving up isn’t an option. She truly has faith that miracles can happen. There have been so many times since being married that Will and I have called his mom to ask for advice, to ask for prayer, and for her love to guide us through a tough time in our life. She has six children, who I know are all doing the same!
In December we called Will’s parents and told them we had something important to discuss with them. Our son Max was Autistic. This has been one of the hardest thing for me to deal with as a mother. What did I do wrong? What was life going to be like? I knew that I needed to be strong for Max, just like my mother was for me, and just like Will’s mom was for both of us.
Again, motherhood is tough, it is giving, it can be so hard, but with prayer and repentance motherhood is joy.
Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate not only your mother, but the women in your life that have influenced you. These women could be a grandmother, a family friend, a teacher, a church leader, an aunt or someone who only entered your life for a small moment but made a huge difference. Women are amazing.
I know from the bottom of my heart that the church is true. I know that mothers all over the world can influence people for good. Prayer works in so many ways. I pray that each one of you have a wonderful Mother’s Day and I say this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
