Mother: Keeper of the Family

This world is losing the concept of family. It’s losing the family breakdown…Father, Mother, Son, Daughter.

We are a family of people who have forgotten where we came from. We have forgotten that we are FOR each other.

Something a woman does innately is bringing people together. We love taking care of people. We love celebrating people. We love bringing people into our homes and hearts. We are nurturers from the very beginning and we nurture life in front of us. For example, taking a meal to a family who just had a child. Listening to a friend who is suffering and being present to them. Holding your child who is having a hard day or might be making you feel like you are having a hard day! 

I believe the woman is the keeper of the family. She is the one who holds the members together. She is the one who with her instinct to see the heart can create a space for people to be seen, heard and loved, to be connected. Our world, this family, is drifting apart. Women, you have an incredible mission from the moment you were created. And it is not something that you have to construct yourself. Just by being present, nurturing, loving and attentive to the person in front of you, you remind them that they belong, that they are loved and they are part of something much bigger than themselves.

Here is how we start. Invite them around the dinner table.

Mothers who may not have a lot of community right now because you’re in the thick of it with your little ones at home, do not give up on having a family dinner. Bring those kids to the table with all of their littleness and converse with them. Help them feel seen and heard. This is for many families the first and only meal eaten together and THIS is where connection happens.

Mothers who may have older children in high school, invite your children’s friends over for dinner. Bring them around the table, phone-free, to have conversation and to model family for these children. They need it more than you know. No agenda, no thought out questions. Just talk. Let them feel seen and heard. Let them just be together.

Mothers who have children out of the house, invite your friends over. They need to be reminded that family can be your neighbor. Cook a good meal, decorate, bring the candles out that you couldn’t use when your children were younger! If you have siblings near you, invite them over. Everyone needs to be reminded that they belong and they are cherished, no matter how old. 

Women who are not biological mothers, create a space in your life to invite people into your heart. Meet them for dinner, a cup of tea, coffee, or invite them over to your apartment. So many people are in need of a family. So many people are in need of good conversation. So many people are in need of community and presence.

Just start small. This does not need to be elaborate! Think of one person you might be able to invite to your home for dinner. Or, meet them out for dinner or coffee. Just start. 

This world needs a mother who will keep the family together.