Editorial by Jessica Marie Baumgartner |
Motherhood has a long history of love, joy, and strength.
Women across all races, cultures, and histories have raised countless generations through their devotion and commitment. There is a divine power in raising children that only those who laugh and smile through all the struggles and frustrations know.
My husband and I are raising five children. I had them all through successful homebirths, and we are considering adding another beautiful baby to our family. When you love your life and your family like we do, there is a never-ending desire to spread and share that love.
I recently found myself defending motherhood and realized the simplicity of what makes it so encompassing. My children are the joys of my life. They lift me up when I feel like a failure, and even when they test my patience, I love them more than ever. My sons mimic their father — sometimes in the most hilarious ways — and I can see the love of my grandmother and my mother shining in the eyes of my daughters.
I wanted to celebrate all the wonders of motherhood by sharing some of the most admirable quotes about raising children from women who know that motherhood is anything but a burden. It may be exhausting, it may be challenging and even scary at times, but motherhood is never anything less than a blessing.
Lila Rose
Live Action founder Lila Rose summed it up best when she said, “We don’t talk enough about how beautiful and inspiring children are and how incredible motherhood is. Getting to nourish a tiny miraculous new soul – who loves so purely even when we are so imperfect – is a divine gift.”
J.K. Rowling
Author J.K. Rowling hit on something more profound than she probably knew when she wrote Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. She spoke about the magic of motherhood and how it never leaves our children even after we pass on.
“Love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark. To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.”
Mary Tyler Moore
Classic actress Mary Tyler Moore opened up about her opposition to the 1970’s feminist movement during an interview with Michael Trinklein before her passing in 2017. He recalled the experience for The Federalist and highlighted her quote on her stances regarding motherhood during the feminist movement and later in life.
She stated, “I believed that women—and I still do—have a very major role to play as mothers. It’s very necessary for mothers to be involved with their children.”
Dr. Abby Johnson
Reformed abortion worker, pro-life activist, and author Dr. Abby Johnson agrees with this sentiment.
She has continuously advocated for motherhood and declared on X in November of 2023, “Motherhood is one of the most important jobs in the world.”
Paula Gallagher
While there are some people who argue that motherhood can be experienced on a gender spectrum and is somehow simultaneously a burden for naturally born women, I am reminded of my former editor at Evie Magazine, Paula Gallagher. In an era where liberal women march for the “right” to kill their unborn babies, women like Gallagher fight to help support women who experience infertility, a problem that affects over 13 percent of women according to the 2024 CDC National Health Statistics Report.
In her May 2020 Evie Magazine article, Don’t Take Motherhood For Granted Because It’s Not Guaranteed, Gallagher poured her heart out about the uncertainty of conception.
“I want the thrill of seeing a positive pregnancy test. I want to feel a baby kicking inside of me. I want to experience the pain of labor,” she wrote.
“I want to be a member of the ‘do I sleep or shower now that the baby’s asleep’ club. I want to hear my husband reading bedtime stories with all the different voices to our kids. I want to hear little voices calling me ‘Mama.’” Her heartbreaking experiences spoke (and still do) for the tens of millions of women who experience infertility.
Jill Churchill
Motherhood can be achieved in many ways, but only a woman can truly foster the nurturing spirit of her feminine ancestors. And whether mothers find their way to raising children through birthing, adoption, or fostering, Author Jill Churchill offered one of the most comforting truths about being a mother.
She said, “There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.”
Perfection is unattainable when raising children. We’re all human, even parents. But when I think of motherhood and the women who came before me, I am inspired by my grandmother most of all. She wasn’t perfect, but she was a good woman who strove to always do good in the world.
Abigail Adams
Women have a wonderful history filled with gentle lessons that our society could use right now. I think of women like Abigail Adams and all of the uncertainty that she and her family went through before and during the Revolutionary War and am awestruck by her resilience and faith.
The published letters between her and our nation’s first Vice President and Second President, John Adams, hold more insight than I can describe. Within the text The Letters of John and Abigail Adams, she applied a simple philosophy to life that especially speaks to the motherhood of my heart: “To be good and to do good, is all we have to do.”
Women must be good to our children and do everything we can for them to ensure that everyone’s future thrives. Like Mary Tyler Moore emphasized, we have a very important role in the lives of our children. This should be celebrated and cherished. No one can break the bonds of love that we pass on through our familial ties.
Motherhood is sacred. Remember that this Mother’s Day and every day.
Photo: Adobe Stock
Leave a Reply