Years ago I was asked half-heartedly by my Bishop if I would give a Sacrament Meeting talk on Mother’s Day. I immediately responded without hesitation, “Heck no! I wouldn’t touch that with a 10 foot pole!” He mumbled something about how difficult it was to find someone willing to speak on the subject of Motherhood for Mother’s Day. I was reminded again how grateful I am to never have to be a Bishop. What a miserable job. Almost as bad as being a Mother.

Or even worse, desperately wanting to be a mother and not having the opportunity.

The minefield of emotions about mothering, the blog posts, the books, the essays, the talk show themes about good, bad and exceptionally bad mothering never goes away. I think it is interesting that in most Disney-animated feature films the main conflict revolves around a missing mother. Not having a mother (or having a horrible one) can create enough turmoil to entertain an audience for over two hours. I don’t recall such a hullaballoo over missing fathers.

Back in the day when I was struggling to deal with my self-created reality of being a mother to three children, I stumbled upon a poem that hit my heart. I have saved it and passed it on to my fellow mothering cohorts when they were having one of those Why-Did-I-Ever-Think-This-Was-A-Good-Idea? kinds of days. It is surprising how often those feelings hit, even when you know from the depth of your innermost cellular tissues that you were created to be a mother.

In honor of the poor Bishops who have hopefully been toiling away trying to find just the right speaker for their wards upcoming Mother’s Day program (only two weeks away on May 13th) Here is my favorite poem on the topic of Motherhood:

A Mother’s Creed
by Renee Hawkley

I am a mother.
I link humanity’s past to its future.
My moment in history is today.
As a precious pearl in the strand of time,
I add love and light and luster to the timeless thread of life
That fastens me to generations past.
My task is both common and noble.
I share it with peasants and queens.
I will not belittle my part,
For I have a title role in the play of life.
My little words and deeds, though small,
Will one day eclipse those of governments and kingdoms.
My achievement will endure when even time is a memory.
For I am a mother.

I link humanity’s past to its future.