My experience of motherhood has been one where I was pregnant and gave birth to my children. But there are so many other ways to be a mother figure. The women who surrounded Moses were mother figures who protected him, gave birth to him, and raised him. Being mother figures to this one child transformed their lives.
Maybe transformation is a part of motherhood, whether it is in our bodies or our hearts. Maybe we transform into fierce protectors, like Shiphrah and Puah, making sure patriarch power doesn’t stop our children from living. Maybe we are like Miriam, watchers who speak up when we see the opportunity for a child to survive. Perhaps we embrace children who come into our lives, like the Pharaoh’s daughter, whether we gave birth to them or not.
What if being a mother figure transforms us as a community? All these women helped deliver Moses to his calling from God. There is not just one woman who saved him. There was a community. We are a community, transformed by those who were mother figures to us, and now we pass on that sacred wisdom to our children.
This message is excerpted from “Mother figures” by Elyssa Salinas in the May 2021 Café online magazine. Today is the Fourth Sunday of Easter. Today is Mother’s Day.
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