Motherhood

Motherhood

 

The first smile that's not just expelled air,

The softness of the newborn's hair,

The perfect tiny hands,

That will one day grow to be a man's.

 

My precious children today!

Then how fast they grow,

Crystal and breakables up they go,

Then "no" is a favourite word,

How often is that heard?

 

The hassles of the runny nose,

Dirty boots and torn clothes,

Long nights as fevers blaze,

Infanthood slips into a haze.

 

All to soon the school bell rings,

Uniforms, frogs, books and slimy things,

Swift the change as independence starts,

Mother and child are prized apart.

 

A new world of learning and friends,

Of challenges not all with good ends,

Of tests of values and ways,

Not at all easy days.

 

Seeds that were sown in early days,

Slowly watered and given praise,

Mature into a fine young tree,

Strong and tall for all to see.

 

So the cycle of life starts again,

An older mother watches the younger mum's pain,

She lends a knowing loving ear,

The next generation she will hold dear.

 

For all the ups and downs we live,

The kids we love and always forgive,

The hard times melt into a vague past,

The bonds formed in childhood will always last.

 

A mother's love will never fade,

No matter who or what her child has made,

It's grace that fills our heart,

Until the time for us to part,

And knowing our job has done,

We leave the next generation to finish what we've begun.

 

@Janelle Coombe 1994

 

I was asked by my church to write a mothers day to read and church and this is what God gave me. At the time my children would have been 4,6,and 8. rereading it now it is still true to what I believe motherhood is. The heart of a mother is the same in every nation rich or poor. We all want the best for our children and want to see them succeed and do better than we did.

 

I couldn't imagine the hardship of living in our Compassion countries, watching you children struggle to survive, not being able to put enough food on the table to feed them, not being able to take them to a doctor or provide them with medicine when they are sick, and having to hold them as they die from diseases that can be prevented simply or cured with the right drugs.

 

We can't fix everything but we can make a start one little child at a time."The Child Survival Program helps save the lives of babies and mothers in poverty by utilizing local churches to assist mothers of at-risk infants and toddlers. Mothers can give their children a fighting chance for healthy development with the supplies and training provided by the donations to this program"( Compassion Bloggers).

 

There are 20 countries to choose from 584 different centres. maybe this Mothers day your gift to the world could be a one off donation to a centre to give another mother the hope and way forward to provide her child with what we take for granted. Check out Compassion International Survival Programmes to see what is happening in these centres around the globe.