William Ross Wallace wrote a poem of which the refrain is, “For the hand that rocks the cradle / Is the hand that rules the world.” The importance of mothers cannot be overestimated. If the family is the cornerstone and foundation of society, mothers are the heart and foundation of the family.
Mothers carry babies inside them for nine months and suffer bringing those babies into the world. Mothers feed babies from their own bodies, and science has proven that mothers have the DNA of their children inside them forever, and that their children’s cells will move to protect the mother’s when the mother has a disease. It is wondrous that God knit mothers and children together so deeply on the cellular level!
But whether biological or adoptive, mothers have a tremendous moral, physical, and psychological impact on their children. So today we honor both physical and spiritual maternity. We honor mothers, grandmothers, godmothers, and even aunts, all those women who sacrifice out of love to guide young people into adulthood.
Great men throughout history have paid tribute to their mothers’ formative care. “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother,” said Abraham Lincoln. The Roman philosopher Seneca wrote to “my best of mothers” and praised her for having always lived like the noblest heroines. The Bible also lauds mothers. One of the Ten Commandments God gave to the Israelites is “Honor thy father and thy mother” (Ex. 20:12), and Proverbs 31 sings the praises of God-fearing women. “Her children rose up, and called her blessed: her husband, and he praised her” (Prov. 31:28). Jesus performed His first public miracle at His mother’s desire (John 2).
My own mother not only raised five children but homeschooled us from kindergarten through high school. She taught me how to pray, how to reason, and how to write. I was able to become a journalist only because she taught me to love language. Even now she still gives me writing tips and story ideas. My mother and my grandmothers inspired me with their example and their wise advice.
Society cannot survive without good mothers. In modern America, we see society disintegrating around us, and part of that is because mothers have ceased prioritizing their children. Young women are encouraged to view maternity in a negative light. Many women even kill their own babies in abortion. The woke attack on motherhood and family is causing the very fabric of our nation to unravel.
Below is the poem I mentioned by Wallace. It is a sweet and sentimental tribute to the beauty of maternity:
Blessings on the hand of women!
Angels guard its strength and grace,
In the palace, cottage, hovel,
Oh, no matter where the place;
Would that never storms assailed it,
Rainbows ever gently curled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.
Infancy's the tender fountain,
Power may with beauty flow,
Mothers first to guide the streamlets,
From them souls unresting grow—
Grow on for the good or evil,
Sunshine streamed or evil hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.
Woman, how divine your mission
Here upon our natal sod!
Keep, oh, keep the young heart open
Always to the breath of God!
All true trophies of the ages
Are from mother-love impearled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.
Blessings on the hand of women!
Fathers, sons, and daughters cry,
And the sacred song is mingled
With the worship in the sky—
Mingles where no tempest darkens,
Rainbows evermore are hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.
Happy Mother's Day!
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