By Rev. Ron McClung
District Superintendent
I read somewhere about a mother, standing by the front door, holding a bundle of coats. Four small children scampered around her. When their father came down the stairs and saw his wife just standing there, he wondering what was happening.
"Here," she said, handing all the coats to him. "This time you put the children into their coats and I'll go honk the horn."
Ouch! I'm afraid that hits pretty close to home for many dads.
According to a study released a couple of years ago by Waltham, Massachusetts-based compensation experts, Salary.com, a stay-at-home mom would earn $134,121, if paid for her work.
To arrive at this figure, the survey considered ten different jobs that most closely make up a mother's role in the home: housekeeper, day-care teacher, cook, computer operator, laundry machine operator, janitor, facilities manager, van driver, chief executive, and psychologist.
The survey showed that 5.6 million women in the United States are stay-at-home mothers with children under age 15. Some 26 million women with children under age 18 work in the nation's paid labor force.
I'm sure every mother feels underpaid and overworked. The real question: can we put a price tag on the value of a mother’s love and labors? Answer: Of course not.
It reminds me of a second grade teacher who gave her class a lesson on the magnet and what it does. The next day she included this question on a written test: "My name has six letters. The first is 'M'. I pick up things. What am I?"
When the students turned in their papers, the astonished teacher discovered that nearly fifty percent of them answered the question with the word "mother."
Moms do pick up things like socks, sweaters, and underwear. But they also pick up fallen spirits and dejected attitudes. They have a built-in meter for detecting hurt feelings. A mother's embrace provides the best medicine for ailments of the spirit.
When Paul wanted to talk about his loving regard for a particular church, he could think of no better comparison than a mother: "We were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children" (1 Thessalonians 2:7 NIV).
To have one person in your corner contributes inestimable value to your self-esteem. If possible, express appreciation to your mother this weekend. If not, at least thank God for mothers.
