For centuries, motherhood was considered to be a significant task put upon the shoulders of strong women.
The act of conceiving a child alone is already a tremendous burden. Imagine how it feels to be directly responsible for another person's life, to determine someone's future based on the amount of care or love you can give to that person.
Being a mom is more than just giving birth to a child. It means loving and knowing a soul before you even see it. It means caring and supporting a person who will soon have his own independent life.
Mom, Mum, Momma, Mommy, Mother…
Whatever we may call them, they are the people who brought us into this world; and we should be forever thankful to them.
In Rev. Emmanuel Oghene's "Marvelous Mothers' Mentality, Methods, and Tactics," he wanted to emphasize a mother's determination to add value to her children's lives. The book highlights how mothers could make a significant and profound impact on a child's life. They give a unique kind of love crucial to a person's growth, which is very symbolic in Biblical stories. Rev. Emmanuel explains that the God of Israel favors any woman who conceives a child.
It seems that being a mother means something more when it comes to the spiritual aspect of our lives. After Mary played her role to conceive and nurture Jesus into adulthood, she went a step further and urged Jesus to perform His mission. In John 2:1-11, we can see that Mary gave Jesus the confidence to perform His first miracle.
Hannah did not just want the primary joy of motherhood rather desired much more. She consciously asked God for a male child to rule over their nation of Israel. As a result, 1 Samuel 1:9-28, 7:15-17, and 12:1-6 confirm that indeed her eldest child, Samuel ruled over Israel from his youth until he died at incredibly old age. She joined forces with God to determine destiny, including the social status of her son. Whatever the men of her generation were thinking and doing is known to them. She was probably a full-time housewife or homemaker, yet she determined who became the ruler of their nation without lobbying or bribing kingmakers or leaving her housewife position/husband’s home.
King Lemuel’s mother followed Hannah’s heartwarming/honorable example to convince God to use her to produce the king of her nation. Samuel and Lemuel’s mothers are the ‘Concealed Conquerors’ and ‘Secret Superwomen/Superpowers behind their nation’s thrones. They conquered their nation’s thrones from the comfort of their homes. That is the equivalent of winning the ‘nation’s power game’ (NPG) working from home (WFH). Marvelous mother’s mantra is ‘My Child My Championship contribution/donation to my society and humanity.
While other queens in David’s palace were fighting over stuff, Bathsheba was getting David to affirm to her that her youngest son, Solomon would rule Israel after him (David). While Peninnah was spending her time and effort to insult her seeming unfortunate neighbor, her rival Hannah spent her time and effort to ensure that her eldest child became greater than Peninnah’s children and members of Hannah’s eldest son’s generation. As a result, Hannah’s Samuel became the most notable and honorable Israelite of his father’s family/household and generation. He wielded power and authority in his lifetime as Hannah determined that he should before he was born.
Marvelous mothers are master planners and designers of their child’s relevance, respect, and honorable adult life. Marvelous mothers are not God but convince God to empower their child for unprecedented greatness.
The Bible is not just about fighting evil. It's also a guide on how we live our lives better. Thanks to books like Marvelous Mothers' Mentality, Methods, and Tactics, readers can explore the Bible differently.
The Bible is full of heroic stories of strong, supportive, and loving mothers who raised their children to become important people in their generation. Learning the struggles, decisions, journey, and faith of these people can help modern women deal with the hardships of raising a child.
God's wisdom can be applied to many aspects of our lives, including parenting and being a mother.