Mother-work: Mothering is Helping Others

Mother.  When most people think about the word, they think of the woman who raised them as a child. But what does the word mother really mean? Does it have something to do with the person who raised you? Or is there more to the word then there seems at first glance? From my perspective, a mother is someone who takes care of others, a person who helps someone that cannot help him/herself.

For me helping others is something I enjoy very much. I am planning on going on my fourth mission trip this summer to help my youth group on missions, and I cannot help but feel that I am behaving in a motherly way by helping people. We build stuff, fix up people’s houses, clean, paint, and talk to people. A mother is someone you can talk to, someone who will listen, and someone who enjoys your company. In West Virginia, I remember three older sisters were living in a rather worn out house, and I just hung around and listened to some of the stories the sisters had to tell. I remember them telling me about their other sisters and I remember that they’d never had rhubarb. Because we had such a huge group, we basically became like a family.

A mother also is someone who will always be there for you and love you no matter what, even when you screw up royally.  There are people on missions who sometimes behave badly. The fact that they screwed up at some point during the trip doesn’t mean that they won’t be any less helpful. You can’t judge someone by what they did in the past, just like a mother won’t judge their child for something they did in the past. Yes, a mother will discipline a child when it misbehaves, but she forgives her child for their mistake. For instance, last year two boys stole some paint balls and ended up throwing them at the walls of one of the buildings. But when it was found out, they cleaned it up and apologized formally the next day.

I am far too young – in my opinion – to be an actual mother. But through helping the helpless, does that make me a mother by default? According to my belief, yes, taking care of others does make one a mother, but a mother to all the people not just to one’s own children. Currently I am planning a trip to Indiana and I am hoping to go on many more. It just feels right to help people.

My name’s Jasmine. I am a twenty-year-old actress and writer, and I am the eldest grandchild on both sides of my family. I enjoy drawing, singing, and writing fan fiction.