4,000 Hours To Go

Do you remember President Bush’s call upon all Americans to perform 4,000 hours of community service in his/her lifetime?  As mothers we are in a wonderful position to knock off those hours.

This note is an encouragement to mothers of children in school - or to all mothers who sense they may feel stifled or addled being at home with their young ones. Be not afraid.  We do not need to make money to be doing something worthwhile with our talents.  And our communities need our talents.  So many dynamic mothers are working - I know my top three picks in our community are a speech therapist, and two heads of preschools.  Because they are dynamic doers with young children I imagine they finish their house chores before most of us are awake. Then, help, who to organize, who to help?  Let me give them - and you - a few ideas.

Today a new mom who knows nobody in town and had a c-section and has been in hospital with few visitors got a visit from an at home extrovert mom.  The new mom is having trouble nursing the baby and has questions about sleep, nursing, etc.  So, she had an hour of chatting and felt better.  That is small and local. 

Volunteer once a week in your child’s classroom.  Organize a children’s choir and take them to retirement homes.  Tidy up the local playground.  Bake cookies and bring them to your neighbor.  Knock on everyone’s door up and down your block and introduce yourself.  (We got furniture and babysitters out of it!)  Meet the non-native English speaking mom in your child’s class and invite her for coffee (If it drives you crazy that people are not learning English, pitch in.)  If you are hyper-creative and organized, start a group of women doing any of the above - become the national headquarters.

Here is a good place to start in general. Have you heard of the corporal works of mercy?

   1. Feed the hungry
   2. Give drink to the thirsty
   3. Clothe the naked
   4. Shelter the homeless
   5. Visit the sick
   6. Visit those in prison (or in another rendering: To ransom the captive)
   7. Bury the dead

The spiritual works of mercy are:

    1. Admonish the sinner
    2. Instruct the ignorant
    3. Counsel the doubtful
    4. Comfort the sorrowful, afflicted
    5. Bear wrongs patiently
    6. Forgive offenses
    7. Pray for the living and the dead

These are part of the early traditions of the Church, taken from the Gospel of St. Matthew 25:34-40:

"Then the King will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to me.'"

Our communities need mothers in homes keeping order and beauty alive.  And these same microcosms need us creatively engaging our culture, actively loving the elderly, the unborn, the immigrant, the prisoner and the on-the-outside-perfectly-coiffed-but-struggling-inside-middle-class-suburbanite.

“Ease, safety, rest, are good, not best”,

Beth

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Comments

[Philomena]

I'm sure for some people, serving is easy and comes naturally. For others it might seem completely out of reach. What do you think causes mothers in particular to shy away from serving (assuming you think there's not enough of it going on)?

[Thomas More]

I can't speak to moms' experiences personally, obviously. But you are right, it is more natural for some than others to serve--I don't know if service beyond self is ever totally natural to anyone though. That said, moms can get in an isolated mind set, holding down the home fort. With their job not providing as much outside exposure as other jobs, it seems that the mere isolation of their situation makes it harder, rather than something causing them to shy away.

Could be wrong, but it seems like it flows--moms don't hate me if I'm wrong!

[Beth]

Oops! My note was not to all mothers. There is too much 'I have to be busy to be worthwhile' in our culture as it is. For the mother who feels overwhelmed with life at home or that she is happily seeing things tick over, this note was not for her. Busyness is not a virtue. For the mother who likes to be at home, who needs quiet and time for reflection, there is much need for prayer for the same neighbors, strangers and friends.

In posting the note, I was thinking of mothers who have a lot of drive and feel like home life is not enough. They are usually slender - all that adrenaline - and speak quickly. Who created the International Red Cross and organized the first international American relief effort - for the Armenians being massacred by the Turks in the 1890s? An at home mom.

Our children are blessings who need careful, constant tending. They deserve our primary attention. And looking around, I see there are many special women who have more energy and more drive and more gifts than I have. Instead of laying a heavy burden on mothers' backs, my desire is to invigorate and encourage those mothers who are sick of shopping, tv and multiple tennis leagues. We need them to use their uniqueness in creative, community-centered ways.

Let's hear what ideas come!

Beth

[email protected]

[Didymus]

Gen. 12 - we are blessed to be a blessing.

The blessing is having God as our god and joining Him in His mission to bless others with Himself.

When I stray from this primary reality of life everything falls apart.

Beth, your post is a wonderful reminder of
this precious truth.

Didymus

[lucy pevensie]

Beth,
I always look forward to your posts. As usual, you have given great, practical ideas to moms of all types.

I have a lot of energy, but so do my kids... so often, just caring for them is enough for me. But many of your ideas are helpful to do WITH kids. I just baked cookies yesterday and sent my 5-year-old to bring them to our older neighbors. We have also enjoyed inviting the whole block to our house for the annual block party, and the next week, hand-delivering a color "newsletter" full of photos from the event. Last year, we invited all the neighborhood kids to our house for Christmas caroling and hot cocoa, and were delighted to find that the Jewish families RSVP'd yes first! Being an influence in the community can be a wonderful project for Mothers and children together, and can channel lots of energy to help point others to our Savior.

Lucy