It was another fun time yesterday, the 13th of March, when mothers the world over in the major denominations in the Christendom celebrated the Mothers’ Day. In the past this ceremony to me like other celebrations had passed as mere rituals. It was not until recently when I had to come to terms with the roles mothers play in creation that I have actually acknowledged that Mothers should be celebrated and indeed adored.
It is not an exaggeration to say that life is not complete in any one’s life without the contribution of a mother, even if not one’s own mother. Judging by their efforts it also not in doubt that women have got unique roles to play in creation.
This remains so whether or not they understand this special role. God in his infinite wisdom endowed women with some special qualities which equip them to discharge their onerous responsibilities designed for them. It is therefore meaningless for any comparison between them and the male.
It does not matter whatever may be any man’s attainment in life or position occupied it should be humbling enough for all men that they pass through a woman called mother to come to this earth. Even the son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ was not an exception. It is therefore quite disturbing that any man would ever attempt to show acts of indignity to any mother.
It may be right that most mothers especially the new generation ones may have relegated to the background through their conducts these honoured roles yet it is not taken away from them. There are so many lamentations about the debased level of the society in terms of morals and discipline.
People have had to make comparisons in the roles played by mothers of yesteryears and today and the conclusions drawn by many is that so much is desired of today’s mothers. This may not be far from reality but what do we expect in a society where change is so dynamic and pervasive sweeping across everything in its wake.
Given the role of mothers in bringing up children in the society, it is easy to fault them for the gross indiscipline and waywardness experienced among the young ones. But is it right? Today virtually everything is under the compelling control of western civilization heavily directed and manipulated through the over bearing technological influences. The biblical refrain that you train a child in the way he should go and when he grows up….appears no longer relevant. Today, the experience is you train the child and the child retrains himself following the irresistible influences that trail his paths. The young mothers have passed through this process and what do they do? The legal maxim,’nemo dat quod non habet’, (you cannot give what you don’t have) holds strongly here.
No matter the excuses made for them the mothers cannot divorce the critical roles of positively shaping the society which nature has entrusted on their shoulders. To some extent they still share in the blame game of a misdirected society. Every specie of animal especially human being is assigned some roles to play to further the work of creation.
No man is ever given more than he can handle. God is not unjust to levy heavy responsibility on any one. Spiritually women are strongly equipped to influence things positively but the truth remains that they are either not conscious of their endowments or may have allowed the negative tales about women and the unending rivalry of gender equality to eclipse their consciousness.
In his book, Human Development: Insight and Critical Issues, Austin Anizor had this to say about womanhood. ‘If womanhood develops aright, she will be automatically placed in her natural leadership position of all mankind without being in politics, business or even having a career. It is the misplaced human values that have affected womanhood to such a devastating degree. The delicate nature of woman should not be misconstrued as weakness. The most important part of the human body is not the limbs that appear strong. Without his limbs man can live. But the delicate part like the heart is hidden and never visible. Yet without the heart man cannot live.”
Austin went further to assert that history is replete with the stories of women bringing down great men such as the first man on earth, Adam, Sampson the great and Solomon the Wise man. ‘This is not a testimony of how bad women are but how powerful and influential they are naturally over men.
And yet in the delusion of modern man he calls women the weaker sex. And the woman like a queen who prefers the toys of children to her queenly crown begs for a say in government, politics, business, career, etc when she could rule the whole world with her womanly virtues and dignity alone”.
The importance of mothers in the society is exemplified in the great influence they wield over their children and their husbands signifying that they have the world in their hand and can change it in the direction of their desires. What is of major concern is the direction in which they exercise this influence. We have had situations where many men in power and authority have been despised as giving only listening ear to the wishes of their wives or what is referred to in local parlance as woman wrapper. So many of the so called men of God have been brought to their knees and shamed. Does that not show the man as the weaker sex no matter how the men folks try to defend it?
The Mothering Sunday should go beyond the expression of emotions, banters, provision of gifts, fun and enjoyment etc. Mothers give meaning to life any how you examine it. It was not for nothing that the nations of the world are expressed in the feminine gender, the mother nation-giving birth and nurturing the citizens with her resources.
Only the emotional attachment of every man on earth no matter his powers and influence to his mother shows that the world belongs to women. It is on this note therefore that we appeal to our mothers to re-examine their roles in creation and help us retrieve this world that is fast slipping off our fingers. Mothers should begin to review what they consume from outside influences of western culture in form of products, ideas, philosophy, foods, fashions, etiquettes etc in order to bring back the good old days.
In the words of Dorothy Canfield Fisher, ‘a mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary’. This is what we crave for from our mothers. We still crave for the good old days. The fathers and indeed everyone are enjoined to support our mothers live up to their billings.
When I reflect on the trainings and care I got from my mother and even now as I appreciate my wife’s care for the kids and her domestic duties I cannot but conclude that indeed women are special gifts to man. They should sustain the effort. Mothers everywhere in the world should be appreciated.
