Motherhood as Vocation \u2013 Excellent Discussion for Labor Day by Kate Harris<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you are a mother, if you know any mothers, if you have a mother, if you might be a mother, or if you might someday be married to a mother, then you\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/2011\/09\/05\/motherhood-as-vocation-excellent-discussion-by-kate-harris\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Motherhood as Vocation \u2013 Excellent Discussion for Labor Day by Kate Harris\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you are a mother, if you know any mothers, if you have a mother, if you might be a mother, or if you might someday be married to a mother, then you\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/2011\/09\/05\/motherhood-as-vocation-excellent-discussion-by-kate-harris\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mark D. 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{"id":1574,"date":"2011-09-05T01:58:47","date_gmt":"2011-09-05T06:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/?p=1574"},"modified":"2015-03-13T15:37:26","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T20:37:26","slug":"motherhood-as-vocation-excellent-discussion-by-kate-harris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/2011\/09\/05\/motherhood-as-vocation-excellent-discussion-by-kate-harris\/","title":{"rendered":"Motherhood as Vocation \u2013 Excellent Discussion for Labor Day by Kate Harris"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

If you are a mother,
\nif you know any mothers,
\nif you have a mother,
\nif you might be a mother,
\nor if you might someday be married to a mother,
\nthen you need to read \u201cMotherhood as Vocation\u201d by Kate Harris<\/a>.<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/a>Harris wrote this piece shortly after the birth of her first child. She now has three. Prior to becoming a mother, she worked in a \u201cvery public, marketplace vocation working for leadership on Capitol Hill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how Harris\u2019s article begins:<\/p>\n

In Washington, D.C., it is only a matter of time before the kind woman standing next to me at a party will turn from talking with my husband and ask the inevitable, identity-testing, status-gauging question I have come to dread as a new and mostly stay-at-home mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what do you do?\u201d<\/p>\n

For blessing or curse, I live in a city and a culture that is uniquely focused on work. People come to Washington from all around the globe to make a difference in the world. And while education and experience ought to matter for much of the important work done here, as a professional nose-wiper working on an advanced degree in banana-mashing, this preoccupation with achievement can feel daunting nonetheless.<\/p>\n

As a Christian, I find this vocational emphasis to be deeply fulfilling overall. I have come to believe, as the Reformers did, that all truth is God\u2019s truth and all work is God\u2019s work. Yet, in my transition from a very public, marketplace vocation working for leadership on Capitol Hill to a mostly private, familial vocation as a stay-at-home mother, I have become increasingly aware of how difficult it can be to find sufficient resources, conversations or even the vocabulary, to develop a coherent understanding and an intentional living out of this quiet, care-giving vocation that now defines the waking and working hours of my days.<\/p>\n

I commend this fine article, which deals with many of the tricky parts of seeing motherhood as a divine calling.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"