Teachable Woman Podcast

Reverends Michele Owes and Diana P. Cherry

On Being a Mother

Rev. Michele Owes: [00:00:00] Welcome. Welcome back to the Teachable Woman Podcast. We are excited to be with you today. Mrs. Cherry and I are excited to speak about Mother's Day. But before we go on with those details, I am Reverend Michele Owes. I am with the one and only Mrs. Diana P. Cherry, and together we are Teachers of Good Things.

Mrs. Cherry, say hello to our podcast family.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Hello, podcast family from the one and only Reverend Diana P. Cherry here. I love the way she says that. God bless you, I love you, and I'm excited to be back with you and with my buddy, Reverend Owes.

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen. We have been sharing with you as it related to, uh, the resurrection season and Easter time. We just wanted us to have a, uh, a more detailed meaning of what [00:01:00] that should mean to us as Christians in the earth. And now, before we know it, we are here at Mother's Day. And what's so wonderful about the Word of God is God has something to say on every matter.

And we want to just share with you the Word of God as it relates to motherhood. Now, this can be a very interesting time of year for some of us. Uh, as moms, we have-- we can set expectations on how we wanna be treated on this very special day or time, not only how we wanna be treated by our husbands or spouses, but, but how we wanna be treated by our children.

And what I find so very interesting and comical even, is that when you are caring for a child from birth to the time they are able to write their name properly on a card, it's a lot of time, right? There's years before they're able to even spell their name properly on a [00:02:00] card, and even more years before they're even able to buy the card themselves.

And even more years before they're able to go and purchase a gift for you, if that is something that you so desire. So motherhood is not a, a quick gratification type of job and, or investment, but it is one that we have to be willing to put the time in. It is one that we have to be patient. It is one that we have to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit.

It is one that we have to demonstrate the love of God throughout. Help us out, Miss Cherry.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: It's a wonderful thing to, um... It's a wonderful thing that God allowed us to be able to reproduce after His

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: I mean, just stop and think about

Rev. Michele Owes: Wow.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Men can't do this. It's only us, and God chose us, and it [00:03:00] started back with our mother, Eve. And the name Eve means, uh... The, the word Eve means, uh, giver of life, or it means life. And so, um, we therefore established a women's fellowship named Life Givers. So God has allowed us to be distinctively different from any other creation that He made, and we are made by God to be able to life wherever we go. And I just want to encourage all of us, it's not about the gifts. not about anything, whether you are a mother, having given natural birth, you are a mother a surrogate to someone, you still are a mother. You have everything in you is able to allow you to respond to the needs of others. I think more than anything, that's what mothers do.

Rev. Michele Owes: Yeah.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: know, we're [00:04:00] always there. the first ones to kiss the boo-boos. the first ones... And, and it's something about that mother's kiss, I really think that there's healing those kisses, because many times...

Well, you know the child wasn't hurt that bad. But many times, as soon as we kiss that little boo-boo, they stop crying. And isn't it wonderful that we're the ones that God made with that compassionate heart, able to birth, but we're also able to give life? Whether we ever give a physical birth or not, we still have something in us whereby we are capable of giving life. can give encouragement. can do all the kinds of things that we want to do to s- help our children, to strengthen them, and that's what God did for us. We're special beings. We're [00:05:00] cre- special creations made by God so that we can meet the needs of others, respond to the needs of others, and be a loving, kind example in the world today. Now, isn't that something that's really needed today?

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen. It's truly, truly

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: is

Rev. Michele Owes: you.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: harsh and so unkind, we have the ability to be kind. So that's... Motherhood is me, it's just the most magnificent thing that could happen to an individual to be able to life. just remember, whether you ever have a physical birth child or not, still are capable of giving life. We're capable of giving light. We're capable of giving hope. We're capable of, uh, making a difference in the lives of others, and that's, that's what womanhood is.

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Whether you've given the [00:06:00] natural birth or not, you can still give life, and I think that's wonderful.

Rev. Michele Owes: absolutely is. I agree with you, Mrs. Cherry. Uh, when Jesus was teaching, uh, the people came to him and said, "Jesus, your mother and your brethren are here, and they are asking to speak to you." And Jesus had a profound question. He said, "Who is my mother and who is my brethren?" And so, you know, depending upon how you interpret that, you might...

Is he disowning his people now? What is happening? But he clearly states who his mother is and who his brethren is in Matthew the 12th chapter, verse n- number 50. He said, "Whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother." And so if we're doing the will of the Father, we're in the family, right?

And some of us, uh, can feel a little disconnected from the families that we were raised in or birthed [00:07:00] in or maybe some of the families that we have married into. But Jesus is clearly saying, "Just do the will of the Father, and the family of God is there for you." So, uh, that's an answer for some of us who may feel as though we're alone in this.

And Mrs. Cherry mentioned to us that it is such a wonderful privilege that we have the opportunity to give life. And, you know, we may not feel that way while our abdomen is stretching out and a human being is laying on top of our lungs and, and all kinds of things. Sleepless nights, you can't get the left or the right or the back and all of those things, those sacrifices that we make to bring the little people here.

Uh, and then God will guide us if we allow him as to how to raise them in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. And it really does behoove us to find out what all that is [00:08:00] in terms of how to raise them. And certainly making sure we, we seek God at every turn, because I promise you, you will not have all the answers.

You will not know everything. And even when you have studied, you think you're well-versed, you, you've read the book cover to cover on what to expect when you're expecting, you, you've read everything about parenting, it is still not What God has to say. So you don't ever wanna leave him out because children are God's heritage, and He has something to say about His heritage.

He wants us to raise them in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. He wants us to be with-- He wants us to have our children with us when we rise in the morning, when we lie down at night, when we walk by the way. It is our responsibility to care for the heritage of the Lord, and it is a privilege.

But I'm, I'm gonna bring back the [00:09:00] reality that sometimes when you're in the middle of the privilege, you don't know it's a privilege. It just seems like a job. You know, there's a lot of laundry, there's a lot of vacuuming and sweeping and cleaning up and picking up and dropping off and, you know, getting dressed and bathing and...

There's so much in it. But more than any of those details, it's the love that's in it, and it's the consistency. And as parents, we oftentimes want to give our children everything, but the thing that they need is us. And they need our time, they need our attention, they need our consistency, and they need to be able to depend upon us in the natural so that they might know how to depend upon a God they cannot see.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes. You know, I just love the scripture that says, you know, if we do the will of the Father, then, you know, we're, we're related to Jesus Christ, the righteous Son of God. We are His brother, [00:10:00] sister, mother, father, only when we do

Rev. Michele Owes: Yeah.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: will of God. just reminded me once more of how important it is that we continue to pray the 37-second prayer. the thing that we pray for most in that prayer, you know, as we add to the actual Lord's Prayer as it's written, one of the things that I know I emphasize more than probably any other part of the prayer is that God's will be done. God wants a people will constantly Um, pray for His will to be done here in the Earth, in our earthen bodies and these earthen vessels that we live in, also for His will to be done in the Earth, in the land where we live. And I think that, there was a time where women, we were really [00:11:00] known for praying. You know, m- and the great-grandmamas, uh, that, that little song, that little jingle that we sing sometimes, "Somebody Prayed

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: But I know that praying mothers, praying grandmothers, praying great-grandmothers, praying aunties who are like mommies, that has saved so many of us. as we think about Mother's Day about the magnificent creation that God made when He, when He made us, know, we have to also think about the spiritual aspects of it. And regardless or irregardless of whether you get any flowers, any cake, or any ice cream, or somebody to take you out to dinner or not,

can pray.

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: We

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: for God's will to be done in our misbehaving children

and our misbehaving

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes. Yes. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: And, um, perhaps Mother's Day should be more focused [00:12:00] on, um, praying than on what we are looking to receive what re- we receive, it's going to pass away. And I, and I often make this statement, I'm so glad now that I'm a widow, I'm so glad that we never spent a lot of time celebrating days. Um,

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes. [00:13:00] Beautiful.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: beautiful orchid. And I appreciate it, but I appreciate more who he

Rev. Michele Owes: Yeah.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: and what he does and his commitment to do the will of the Lord, you know.

And thankful that the training we, uh, raised him up in, that it stuck. Um, how many times you feel like, "But I taught him. It just won't stick." But when, when we get one and it sticks, we can

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: But as we celebrate Mother's Day, remember to [00:14:00] pray.

Rev. Michele Owes: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Remember to pray for our country. Remember to pray for our leadership. Pray for our pastors. Pray for our families, because what the fervent prayer of a righteous person... Now make sure you're right with

God. will

Rev. Michele Owes: damn might. Yes, it will. Absolutely.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: I also want to remind us to remember how beautiful and how important those little hugs were when you picked them up from school or picked them up from daycare, and they saw you, and it was, "Mommy," and they took off running. It just didn't matter. You know, they spotted you across the room, and here they came.

And the minute you walked in the door every day, they were there to greet you and to hug you. And I know as they became teenagers, maybe not so much, and as adults, maybe not so much. But just remember the love that you received then. And sometimes, no matter what was going on in your day, in your week, those little hugs were all that [00:15:00] mattered, just to be able to connect for those few moments with someone who loved you unconditionally.

And, uh, that is the kind of love that we want to have for our children as well, just unconditional love. And you will always occupy the office of mom. Always. And they're always going to be your children. And as Mrs. Cherry said, we don't have to give birth Uh, in order to be mothers, if we've ever encouraged a child, if we've ever, uh, made a, a positive impact in their lives, if we've ever been kind, shown mercy, those kinds of things.

These are the kinds of things that God, uh, if we're doing the will of God, and so we're in the family of God. So we don't, first of all, want you to feel alone. You are not alone. You are the child of the Most High God and a joint heir with Christ Jesus. Just continue to do the will of [00:16:00] God.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes

Rev. Michele Owes: a child to be in your presence, to demonstrate the fruit of His Spirit, because we don't know who's sitting before us.

We have our thoughts, but our thoughts are not His thoughts. We really don't know who's sitting before us, but we don't wanna do anything to harm them. We wanna make sure that we encourage them. We wanna make sure that we, uh, love them and raise them in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. As it relates to our gifts, as it relates to what God desires to render to us, a well done is really sufficient.

All of the things that they can buy from the store and bring to us, we're gonna have to dust or clean or wash or wear or dry clean or invest more in, get a sole on it in the future. Whatever it is, it's gonna require more of us than just to receive it. So those things that God desires to provide for us are eternal.

And so let's look for those kinds [00:17:00] of things to give us joy and not allow our attitudes, not allow our emotions, not allow the worldly thoughts. Well, nobody even recognized me for Mother's Day. Nobody called. Nobody came by and, uh... You know, there, there is the scripture that says, "Give honor where honor is due."

And we have to

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: check ourselves on how we think honor applies. Does honor have to come out of a department store? Does honor have to be money? Does honor have to be stuff and things? Can it be a, a, a card? Can it be a call that expresses love and respect and care?

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: that you're shown love, somebody drove over to give you a hug and, and to thank you for all the years of investments, or walked over and brought you a flower?

Can it be the things that can be eternal in your heart or, or does it have to be something we [00:18:00] collect? So let's just check ourselves as it relates to that.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: That is so important. And, and I think, uh, I think one of the overriding things that I want everyone to take away from the podcast on motherhood and being a mother is the fact that you don't have to give birth to give life. And so always remember where you-- wherever you are, wherever you go, you can give life. If you're in a evil situation, a workplace, very presence should bring a calming atmosphere. It should bring life. And always remember that you can You are a life-giver. You carry life in your very being and

Rev. Michele Owes: [00:19:00] Same.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: inside of you. And never allow one misstep in judgment or error of the heart, the mind, or the body, don't let that dictate, um, your worth. Don't allow... You know, if that person who impregnated you is no longer in the child's life, that might be one of the biggest blessings you've ever had in your life. So don't try to force things, uh, to happen in your life just because you had, um, a mishap or, or you committed a sin against God, which is what it is, which I-- well, I did it too. [00:20:00] but don't be in the depths of despair and don't develop an attitude of woe is me. No, that child is a blessing of God. That child is a heritage from God, you have the blessed opportunity to be a mother to that child and to do the very best that

you can do and to be the very best that you can be.

So don't despair. Get up and go on with your life. If that person is not in your life, it might be one of the biggest blessings of your life. So be strong, be encouraged, and you are a mother, you are a life-giver. So give

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: birth to that child. give life to that child every day of their life.

Give them new

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: to become

Rev. Michele Owes: Excellent. Excellent. You know, some of us may have become parents by default, if you will. We might be raising our [00:21:00] siblings' children. We might be raising someone else's children, uh, as a result of some mishap or situation in life. Uh, but God still expec- expects us to raise them in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord.

He still expects us to give life to them. He still expects us to encourage them. So whether or not they came out of your womb, if they're in your care, the expectation is the same from God. And so we pray that God will strengthen you by might in your inner man by His Holy Spirit to do the job in such a way that God will be glorified, and that the kingdom of God would be lifted up.

Amen.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Amen. Amen.

Rev. Michele Owes: Well, we thank you for joining us on this podcast. Mrs. Terry, we are there. Happy Mother's Day to every one of you, and know that Mother's Day is really not just a day on the calendar. It, it may be a day that our nation pauses to look at the [00:22:00] responsibilities that we carry on 24/7, 365 and 366 on leap year.

These are-- This is just a natural view for a moment of what we do. But what we do is a daily thing. So Mother's Day is really every day. It may not be celebrated, but it is every day, right?

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: It is. It is. Be strong, be encouraged, and don't forget to give life

wherever you go

Rev. Michele Owes: amen. Amen. I love that. All right, we'll see you on our next podcast. God bless you. We love you. Bye.