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There was this song by a famous Nigerian musician while I was growing up – “Iya mi, Iya L’alabaro”, loosely translated it means “my mother, my confidante”. I will not lie, knowing that I am a guy, I love the tune, but I used to get jealous when I hear the song. Why is the mother the confidante and the father is not? It did not take long for me to understand that this is a universal truth. It was no doubt much easier in the years of our youth to approach our mothers for comfort and receive it. There was that part of the song that talked about holding the child and dancing in the middle of the night. Yes, when everyone else is sound asleep, the mother is holding on to her baby and dancing. If she is lucky her husband is there on the bed close by switching back and forth between snoring and waking to ask how they are doing. For the not-so-lucky, the man has abandoned the room for them to find comfort in a much quieter place. This is not to bash fathers; it is just a simple testimony of how indeed the mother is a confidante and a comforter of her children.
Growing up, I needed someone to always cry to, since I cried quite easily. My mother was a friend I could talk to, in fact, our mothers are our best friends forever. There was nothing I could not tell my mother. When others laughed at me, she will rub her hands over my head, hug me, and say to me don’t mind them; while at the same time calling me so many endearing names that immediately restores my confidence. She was a shoulder to lean on and a great friend. My mother was a strict disciplinarian, but as strict as she was, she was still the kindest mom anyone could ask for. I thank God for my mother. Whether you are happy about your promotion at work or you are feeling let down, one intimate conversation with mother would bring you back on your feet. Mothers always seem to know the right words to say and at the right time to make us feel all will be well.
I felt my mother’s love so deeply that I made great efforts when I was younger to avoid doing anything that would disappoint her. During my High School days, there was a time I did something that was against the school code (juicy stuff for another day) and I was suspended from the dormitory. Of course, when you are suspended from the dormitory or from the school, the next thing is for you to go home and bring your parents. My Dad had passed while I was in Elementary School, so I had to get my mother. I was so scared to go home and tell her that I had been suspended from the dormitory. I felt ashamed that I had disappointed her so much. After I got home and summoned the courage to tell her why I came home in the middle of the school term, I was pleasantly surprised that her main concern was about my well-being. “How have you been eating”, she asked. Her reaction made me feel so good and bad all at once that all I could do was to apologize profusely promising her that I would never, ever do that again. Isn’t it so comforting to see the awesome potential of a mother to bring peace amid a brewing storm?
Interestingly, the comfort we get from our mothers reminds us of the comfort we get from our God who the Bible refers to as the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3). A true mother offers compassion and comfort to her children. “As one whom his mother comforteth, so, will I comfort you” (Isaiah 66:13). A mother’s soothing touch and presence are meant to bring comfort, encouragement, relief, joy, rest, help and love to her family and our mothers do it so effortlessly.
In the process of becoming adults we garner a lot of experience along the way. However, no matter how much experience we have had, one thing that remains unchanged is the love of our mothers. Always pure, always deep, always genuine. She remains the comforter and confidante that she has always been. When we get married, new confidantes and comforters show up and we begin to take our mothers for granted, forgetting the immeasurable value of their love. That kind of love should not go unnoticed and unappreciated. Let us respond always to our mothers with great love and appreciation and respond to the God who created motherhood the same way. Mothers remind us in the most practical way of God’s sacrificial giving to us. So, when we honor our mothers, we are surely honoring the God who created them. Happy Mothers’ Day to our mothers. – Pastor Simbo Odunaiya
