One day I was taking our eight-year-old daughter and her friend to a party.  As we were driving, they started discussing the variety of jobs their parents held. My daughter’s friend said, “My mom is a teacher, an editor, and a writer”.  I replied, “Don’t forget one of her jobs is also being a mother!”

Her immediate response was, “Oh, no! My mommy says that’s not a job; that’s sheer joy.”

Those words had a major impact on me.  At that moment, my perception of motherhood changed.  I had never heard anyone describe motherhood as sheer joy before.

In fact, most mothers of young children will readily agree with this sentiment;  If having children is so wonderful, how come the process begins with something called labour?

The reality is that a great percentage of mothers with young  children feel the role is exhausting, hard work, and drudgery, with moments of joy thrown in every now and again. However, blissful moments are habitually overshadowed by the routine tasks of raising children.

Let’s not even mention what happens when we, and they, hit the teenage years!

I prayed silently that day for God to help me change my attitude and outlook about raising my children – granting me His wisdom.  I also prayed to embrace the notion that motherhood can be sheer joy!

This blog site is going to be about the years prior, and subsequent too, that momentous statement by a young child that “Being a mother is sheer joy”.