Is My Motherhood Worth Celebrating?

Finding Joy in Faithful Obedience When Motherhood Feels Like Failure

By: Hollie Puckett

I have always wanted to do a good job. As a child, I obeyed. As a student, I strived for good grades. As an employee, I went the extra mile. My parents, report cards, and performance reports all seemed to affirm that I was doing a good job.

When I became a mother, I wanted to do a good job more than ever—and I still do. What matters most to me is raising children with Christ-like character who love the Lord. Unfortunately, I often find myself looking at my children’s struggles and using them as a measure of my own success or failure as a mother.

This is a feeling that every mother is familiar with, and when it surfaces on the second Sunday in May, it can tinge Mother’s Day with pain. The reality of everyday motherhood can contrast sharply with picture-perfect celebrations. We love the cards, flowers, and kind words, but we may quietly worry, “Is my motherhood truly worth celebrating?”