Three-minute speech by Barbara Booth – January 9, 2020
“What Being A Mother Means to Me”
When I think about what it means to me to be a mother, I think, of course, about my family. It is the source of what is meaningful and fulfilling in my life. To be a mother is the greatest blessing and honor that there is. And to be a grandmother is even better!
But another thing that I realize about mothering is that it is bigger than our own families—and it is a joy that is available to everyone.
The word mother has several meanings. It can mean a woman who has children. It can mean the beginning of something. It can mean an animal with offspring. These are all nouns, but the word mother is also used as a verb. It can mean to nurture or to care for someone. Maybe we can’t all be mothers, but we can all “mother”.
One famous mother is Mother Teresa. She did not have any children of her own. She was a catholic nun and the leader of a group of nuns—and as such, she carried the title of “mother”. But the important thing is that she did more than carry the title—she mothered. She is known as the founder of many soup kitchens, clinics, and counseling programs as well as orphanages and schools. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Just the mention of her name reminds us that one doesn’t have to be a mother to be a master of “mothering”.
I really believe that our world today, though we see many problems, is full of good people. I also think that most of us want to help others. We see the hardships that many people in our own communities face and we have a natural urge to help—to “mother”.
A song says: “what the world needs now is love, sweet love.” And who could be more ready to give that love than mothers?
When mother Teresa received the Nobel Prize, she was asked: “What can we do to promote world peace?” She answered, “Go home and love your family.” Later she expanded on this advice—she said: “The problem with the world is that we draw the circle of our family too small”. Maybe we can all, mothers or not, increase our mothering to our communities and the world, finding ways to serve and lift up those in need around us.