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By QuaWanna Bannarbie

On Mother’s Day, tributes to the women who fulfill the activities of mothering children echo around the nation. These tributes often consist of precious presentations involving flowers and stories of how much she has influenced the lives of those under her care. The title of mother is not reserved only for women who have given birth; many women have been called “Mother” by virtue of their advocating on the behalf of a child that was not their own. We tend to attribute who or what makes us who we are in some ways to the workings of a mother in our lives. But to what can we attribute the makings of a mother?

A plethora of books, stories and articles have been written on what makes a mother. I was not surprised to find that many of these commentaries have some list or key qualities that form a sort of checkoff sheet for the greatest mothers, the exemplary mothers and the godly mothers. Yet, I think that there is no single recipe that forms the batter for the best mother. When God made mothers, did He put the same thing in every one of them?

Recently, I came across a social media post that was a tribute to a mother in a rather modern way. The social platform, TikTok, is known for its challenges. One of the trends of late involves the hashtag #WhenGodMadeMeChallenge. I found myself smiling at a video of a young black boy in his home kitchen standing in front of a bowl. I watched as he poured water from various containers into the bowl and each time the video tags would list an attribute or characteristic of his mother, who is Atlanta hair blogger Mykal Steen. A sample of the words that flashed across the screen were: pretty, funny, smart, hardworking, successful, angel, cool and crazy. Then he put the bowl away and his mother walked into the kitchen, and they shared a few dance steps together. You can tell that this 14-year-old son and his mother have a very special bond.

This trend called #WhenGodMadeMe began with TikTok influencers using different condiments or ingredients poured into some type of reservoir to demonstrate what makes them who they are. This young boy’s Mother’s Day tribute depicts how his mother is perfectly designed for him.

We cannot define a good mother by one list, because there is not just one mother in the world.

When we look at the first mother, Eve, she was defined as the mother of all creation by her husband, Adam. From her, more mothers came to be. If all creation performed their own TikTok videos of all the mothers of the world, the characteristics would reflect our unique Creator. The Bible says, Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities … (Roman 1:19-20). Every mother demonstrates that we are uniquely formed for unique purposes, because our Creator enjoys diversity. Our uniqueness as mothers supports His status as the only God with unique power.

God made moms. He made them to be a reflection of Him, and He made them to be a reflection of their people. When I think of my own making as a mother, I don’t see a list of attributes as much as I see the names of advocates. I became a mother at the birth of my first child. I was made a mother because of the intercession of the Holy Spirit, the presence of a devoted husband, the prayers of my parents and in-laws, the counsel of some experienced sister-friends and the gift of a precious baby girl we named Jenesis, because she is and will always be our first jewel.

I pray that each mother and mother-figure in our community knows that you are advocates for the making of beautiful people in the world. Most importantly, the Great One advocates on your behalf. Keep working to make our world who or what they are becoming.

QuaWanna Bannarbie is an adjunct professor of nonprofit leadership and management with Indiana Wesleyan University, National and Global. Her children attend Suffolk Public Schools. Connect with her via QNikki_Notes or iamquawanna@thebiggerme.net.