During these challenging times, politicians of all persuasions have recognized “front line” workers as heroes. Many of them are. On Mother’s Day, we have a unique opportunity to recognize our mothers, unsung “front line” heroes.
Families are the fundamental unit of society; and many of us can attest that it is our mothers, who are on the “front line” for families, unselfishly loving and serving their spouses and their children, holding families and communities together. Too often, mothers love and serve their children alone, without fathers.
What makes a hero? Does one’s position or job confer hero status? No. In the final analysis, it is less important what a person’s work is, and more important on how a person does their work.
Mothers are not paid for their work, often receiving little or no formal recognition for it. But mothers serve for higher and better purposes; the motivating force of mothers’ work is love.
One mother describes mothers’ love as follows:
“How is it that a human being can love a child so deeply that you willingly give up a major portion of your freedom for it? How can mortal love be so strong that you voluntarily subject yourself to responsibility, vulnerability, anxiety, and heartache and just keep coming back for more of the same? What kind of mortal love can make you feel, once you have a child, that your life is never, ever your own again?”
What is more noble, more heroic, than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child?
It is not only the prenatal carrying, but the lifelong role of loving that makes motherhood so sacred, a nurturing service to be revered. Of course, there are heartbreaking exceptions, but many mothers know intuitively, instinctively that the role of mother is a sacred trust of the highest order.
Some women are not mothers; nevertheless, many of these women demonstrate these innate strengths and gifts as they unselfishly serve and love others and our communities.
Of course, no mother is perfect. Nevertheless, we can choose to revere and honor our mothers in their sacred roles. We set good examples as we do so.
As fathers, husbands and sons, we can be inspired by the moral force of women. This Mother’s Day let us all express gratitude to mothers, wives and daughters, the women in our lives. Many of them are amazing heroes.
Jason Stephan is the Red Deer-South MLA.