“Mothering is the Hardest Job You’ll ever Love”
May 9, 2021
“Mom’s Night Out”, a 2014 family comedy, tells the story of Allyson, a young stay-at home mother who is having a most unhappy Mother’s Day. At first glance, she seems to have a life that many would envy—happily married to a loving husband, three adorable children, and a lovely home. However, as Allyson writes on her “mommy blog”, she is beset with feelings of unworthiness and anxiety. Overwhelmed by the constant demanding responsibilities of motherhood, Allyson is unhappy. Even though she is living her dream of being a decent wife and mother, she feels like a horrible mother! As a temporary antidote to this, Allyson decides to have a night out with two other friends–a night for them to enjoy dressing up, have adult conversation, and eat food not served in a bag. In order for this to happen, the moms have to rely on their husbands to watch the children for three hours and, of course, everything that can go wrong, does.
However, digging deeper into the movie, Allyson, learns some important lessons about life, motherhood, and herself. By movie’s end, she realizes that life and parenting are beautifully messy and that she is exactly where God wants her to be! Ultimately, and these are NOT Allyson’s words, she comes to the realization that “mothering is the hardest job you’ll ever love”.
Mother’s Day is a holiday that conjures up many images. Some of those images may be of young children presenting their moms with glitter and glue-globbed macaroni necklaces, breakfasts in bed, special meals out with the whole family, and maybe even hand-picked bouquets of flowers (or weeds). Some of those images, however, may be far from this ideal. Mother’s Day can be a day filled with complicated emotions, grief, and conflicting realities. Some have lost their mothers during this past year of Covid, some are weary from years of struggling with infertility, some are estranged from an adult child, or some have never had the joy of becoming a mother.
Regardless of the images and emotions that Mother’s Day evokes, perhaps we can all find solace in reading about how our Heavenly Father compares Himself to mothers who will not forget their children, and as mothers who comfort. He will never forget us and He will always comfort us.
Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you. – Isaiah 49:15
As one whom his mother comforts,
so I will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. Isaiah 66: 13
Happy Mother’s Day to my amazing Mom, Gloria, who certainly received many handmade cards, dollar store type gifts, and dandelions over the years of celebrating Mother’s day! And I must admit, I certainly contributed to making her mothering “the hardest job she ever loved”!