More Than Diapers and Dishes: The Spiritual Core of Motherhood

I’m sitting on a blanket at the edge of a field, scribbling a word or two every few minutes. (If this ends up shorter than usual, you’ll know why.) My main focus right now is watching my ten-year-old son pitch in his neighborhood baseball game.

Earlier today, we soaked up the spring sunshine at a homeschool park meet-up. In between, I raced home to finish the laundry and get dinner set up so it’ll be ready when we walk in the door. Days like this are physically intense and completely exhausting. I fall into bed alongside so many other moms, bone-weary, wondering: What happened to the lofty, inspired mother I once imagined I’d be?

There are parenting seasons that are just all-consuming, when the physical demands are so constant that it’s easy to lose sight of the profound spiritual essence of our role.

This is exactly why, in Temple times, postpartum mothers, right in the middle of the most physically demanding stretch of their lives, would journey to Jerusalem to bring offerings, marking the moment with spiritual elevation.

“On the completion of her days of purification, for either son or daughter, she shall bring to the priest, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting… He shall offer it before Hashem and make atonement for her…such are the rituals for her that has borne a male or female…”— Leviticus 12:6–7

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, a 19th-century German Torah leader, teaches that after the deeply physical experience of pregnancy and childbirth, a mother is called to shift her awareness toward the spiritual. From that point forward, her mental and spiritual energies are essential in raising her child. It’s so easy to lose that awareness when you’re sleep-deprived and sore. That’s why Torah law anchors us with this reminder: even in the thick of exhaustion, a parent’s calling is sacred and eternal.

Today, we don’t have the Temple in Jerusalem, but we still need reminders. For mothers and fathers alike, deep in the trenches of parenting, moments of inspiration matter. Even when parenting feels overwhelmingly physical, it is, at its core, a spiritual mission.

At Mother’s Guidance, my mission is to blend faith-based parenting inspiration with practical tools so parents can integrate and elevate both the physical and spiritual dimensions of raising children. To honor the beautiful, hard, holy work that moms do every day, I’m offering a special discount on my self-paced online courses. Help the mom in your life invest in her home, her marriage, and herself with the promocode MOMLOVE. Strengthen a mother and you've strengthened a whole family. ❤️

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