The Sacred Work Of Mothering

A kindhearted woman gains honor.

—Proverbs 11:16

There are a thousand things I learned from my mother. I learned that your world will never be small if you love to read, because you can be anyone, anywhere, at any period in history. My mom taught me that age is something to celebrate and not something to fear, and when Henry was born, she taught me how to rock a newborn to sleep.

Almost every woman mothers, in one way or another. I used to think it was an all-at-once thing, that you go to the hospital a woman and come out a mother, like going through a car wash with a dirty car and coming out with a clean one.

Now that I am a mother, it is clear to me that I have been mothered by a whole tribe of women, some who had children of their own, and some who didn’t. I thank God for each one of them, and thank them for mothering me when I needed it, and for giving me such a rich variety of images for what it means to be a mother.

When any of us mother—when we listen, nurture, nourish, protect—we’re doing sacred work.