The Motherhood Project: Part I

I've been working on a project of sorts lately, trying to gain a greater understanding of motherhood and my purpose. Here is the first installment of what I call, The Motherhood Project.

“One Sunday, in the process of preparing the sacrament, I noticed that some of the sacrament cups had tiny holes in the bottom corner where the machine that had produced them cut a little too deeply, leaving the cup unable to hold water for a long period of time. In some of the cups, the hole was so miniscule that it took 30 minutes or more for the water to drain. In others where the hole was much larger, the water drained immediately. Because of this defect, I knew I couldn’t use them. I thought to myself, “What good is a cup that won’t hold water?” Had the cups been the wrong color, size, or shape, it might not have been a problem, but the one thing the manufacturer needed to get right was each cup’s ability to hold water. After all, that is the purpose of a cup.”¹

“As a single male in my mid-30s, I sometimes feel that, like those sacrament cups, I am not fulfilling my purpose. Marriage continues to be a much-desired goal, but my efforts have not yet borne fruit, leaving me to wonder if I am filling the measure of my creation.”¹ 

Obviously, I am not a single young man, but I have experienced similar feelings of inadequacy and defectiveness as I have struggled through infertility, miscarriages, and my own perceived or real shortfalls. Perhaps you have experienced these feelings through your own situations as well. Maybe you are single, divorced, infertile, have made mistakes, are experiencing feelings of inadequacy, or just don’t feel like you fit the “mold” for some other reason. 

Joshua Larson, the young man who shared his feelings of inadequacy, continued to say, “Many times we lose sight of our divine purpose and the Lord’s promises, and the world’s measuring stick can cause us to think we are less than adequate… However, the measure of our creation is to reach the exaltation and eternal life promised to those who remain faithful and obedient. If we are continually progressing with faith in God’s promises, we are in a very real sense filling the measure of our creation. If we purge ourselves of unrighteousness so that we are moving along the strait and narrow way of sanctification, we are filling the measure of our creation. If we go forth doing good works, being an instrument in the Master’s hands, we are filling the measure of our creation… By focusing on my eternal progression, seeking to be a vessel for the Holy Ghost, engaging in good works, and letting many of the other worries of life fade away, I feel that I am ever closer to filling the measure of my creation.”¹

References:
1. Joshua Larson “The Measure of Our Creation,” Ensign, Jan. 2014.

PS. One of my favorite blogs, The R House, has a series titled "What is Motherhood?" Click here to find what she has discovered about motherhood. Stay tuned for more to come in the Motherhood Project.