~by Jenny

This past Mother’s Day, one of the speakers spoke about how her children all had another mother. For example, with her first daughter, a hospital intensive care (ICU) nurse held her baby and knitted her booties to wear when the only other thing she could wear was a diaper while in the isolette.

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The speaker went on to tell about her children’s other mothers. Two of her children are adopted. As such, they both have natural mothers who gave them life. One also spent time in foster care. The speaker was able to give birth after adopting, but again, her baby spent over a month in ICU with many other women who took care of her child. She spoke of all the other mothers her children have had in Primary (children’s church class), Young Women’s (teenage girl church class) and all the different influences children have in different stages of their lives. Women around us contribute to our lives, they are other mothers to us.

It was a wonderful talk for a Mother’s Day — speaking to all women. We are all mothers as we contribute to the well being of children growing up around us.

Thank you to all the women in my life. I need your love and support to be who I am, and to help my children be who they need to be. It is especially applicable this time of year as so many children, young and old, go to school and are nutured by ‘other mothers’.

Few of us will reach our potential without the nurturing of both the mother who bore us and the mothers who bear with us. -Sister Sheri Dew

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