How I realised I had made an idol of motherhood

Vicki Courtney reflects on how the good desire for motherhood can become an idol. Through her daughter’s pain, she’s reminded that a woman’s true worth lies not in motherhood, but in being a beloved child of God.

For as long as I can remember, my daughter has wanted to be a mother. She tended to her dolls as a young mother-in-training. She staged mock weddings with neighbour boys and played pretend house for hours at a time. She talked about how many children she was going to have one day and what their names would be. And throughout her childhood, I reinforced the teaching that marriage and motherhood were key factors in the  happily-ever-after formula of biblical womanhood.

I could not have imagined at the time that her future fairy-tale would not play out as scripted. After a year of trying to get pregnant, my daughter was diagnosed with unexplained infertility. Another two years went by with back-to-back  appointments and procedures with a fertility specialist. Watching my daughter and son- in-law suffer one heartbreak after another was unbearable.