Nurture Definitions

Daughter
A daughter is her father’s joy and her mother’s treasure because she quickens the heart. An heiress, she was hoped for and is the hope for the future. As the potential carer and bearer of life, she is human wealth. Her invention was God’s all together-lovely crown of creation. The one who completes. Daughters are the feminine form, which embodies love, beauty, hope, tenderness. A daughter is smiles, hugs, laughter; she is a female seeker of truth who asks many questions longing to know who she is. She is a friend and a comfort in the latter years. A daughter is like a priceless pearl.

Mother
I have found mothers to be those who lay down life to bring forth life, whether this is by way of childbirth, adoption or rescue. Mothers are advocates for children and change, protectors, nurturers and healers of sick. The one who responds to the child’s cry at night, they are master multitaskers. The one who feeds and sustains life with warmth and what beauty she finds, she is the wiper of tears, the calmer of fears, tender of injuries, instructor, teacher, friend, confidante and the giver of advice—whether you ask for it or not. She is a woman with answers who will tell you who she is—“because I am your mother, that is why.” A mother is likened to the anterior coating of a shell called “the mother of pearl,” and we have this oyster shell; the mother of pearl is the inside, the pearl is the daughter.

Grandmother
I found grandmothers to be the ones who know and love, she is the “yes” to every question that you have, she wears a soft smile and an even softer hug—as she smashes you into her large breasts. She is the confidante and advocate for both the mother and the daughter. She is the giver of both practical and unnecessary gifts. She is the guardian of perspective, secrets and insight. She is the one who listens and prays as she watches over her children near and far. They have selective memories and give advice when asked. A grandmother no longer asks who she is or tells others who they are because she has discovered why she is. Grandmothers could be likened to the outer shell of an oyster. I got this because I discovered something about a pearl. The pearl is actually formed in response to an irritation. And what the Holy Spirit spoke to me was, “What was painful to the mother becomes priceless in the daughter”—if we know how to respond. The mother of pearl is really interesting because if you look at shells, they have bands of colors, but only one color is transferred—in all of its perfection—to the pearl. So, the mother takes one thing and coats that daughter with this beautiful thing, and the mother and the pearl, but none of this happens without the protection of the grandmother. So, the grandmother’s kind of wrinkled on the outside—this one didn’t know about laser—but we’ve got the grandmother, the mother and the daughter. I believe that we need to restore back some dignity to all of these positions. All of us haven’t necessarily experienced all of these things in their loftiest forms, but I believe we have a lot to aspire to, and I believe that we can do that.