My mother is wonderful and always has been, but this article is not about her, or, if you're an adult, your mother. This article is about any mother that currently cares for the vulnerable child - the person who is a paragon of parenthood, even whether they're a parent or not. This article is about the situational mother.

Mothers don't have to be people who have carried their infants to birth. But mothers do need to be carers, because mothers are carers. As the Father Heart of God is to love us in perfect accord to His flawless will, the Mother Heart of God is to provide the nurture crucial to all our human development, which is indispensable in early life.

This article is about the most important mother alive. It's not about the greater legacy that has been left by the mothers of yesteryear in their suffering for our grandparents', our parents', and our own good. It's about the mother in the midst of actually mothering.

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A PRAYER FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT MOTHER ALIVE

Our Father,

In Your Wisdom You made the world to be sustained through fathers and mothers; of two persons biologically assigned and called to procreate, and without them both, all intelligent creation is ruined. Glory is Yours, LORD, for Your way that sees humankind prosper on the earth.

Thank You, firstly LORD, for fathers. Thank You for the image of servanthood that the male embodies in leading as Jesus would. Thank You that a good father is a safe man, capable of leading his family as a helper, first and foremost, that they might have all his strength, because he submits ubiquitously to You. Thank you, also, for all the women of past who've been mothers, and who've cared for children as a mother should.

We confess that we've not always been a blessing to our mothers. Many times we've tried them and hurt them. We humbly seek Your forgiveness, because in transgressing our mothers we've wronged them. Let this confession and seeking of Your forgiveness be indicative of our heart that our mothers would be benefactors of Your imminent and interminable healing.

We pray now for the most important mother alive - that mother who is in the actual throes of parenting, caring for, and nurturing a vulnerable human being in her care. We pray that You give her every good thing for the tasks she must now, today, complete; that she be encouraged emotionally and spiritually, underpinned by an authentic knowledge of Your Presence, equipped with the strength of endurance not to give up. Help her to hear Your voice that encourages her and urges her on when she doubts she can make even one more step. Protect her and give her an exit for safety when she feels unsafe, and help her to trust You when she must wave her children bye. Give her the blessing of the gifts of love that she doesn't need to earn, but simply deserves. Help her to know, of all the living angels of the earth, she, as mother, is the grandest of all.

Bless her in every good way, we ask,

In Jesus' name,

AMEN.