What Makes A Mom

Mother’s Day is a day of mixed emotions. For many, it is a day of joy and celebration. For others, it carries grief, unfulfilled longings, complicated relationships, or the ache of someone deeply missed. Wherever someone lands, the message of Exodus 1–2 speaks with honesty and hope.

The story does more than highlight biological motherhood. It honors the many women who step into “mom” roles in everyday life: birth moms, adoptive moms, stepmoms, foster moms, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, mentors, teachers, coaches, small group leaders, and spiritual moms in the church family. While not every woman is a mom, many women play the role of mom in powerful, often hidden ways.

Exodus 1–2 reveals four traits that sit at the heart of this calling: a mom protects, praises, preserves, and provides.

A People in Trouble

The story begins with God’s people, the Israelites, living in Egypt. Their ancestors had come there generations earlier through Joseph, whom God raised from slavery to a position of influence so he could rescue his family during a severe famine.

But Exodus opens with a chilling line: “Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.” This Pharaoh has no memory of Joseph’s leadership and no gratitude for what God did through him; he only sees a growing foreign population that threatens his power.

Pharaoh responds by enslaving the Israelites and “working them ruthlessly,” hoping harsh labor will crush them. Yet Scripture says, “The more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread.” Pharaoh tries to shrink them, but God keeps blessing them.

So he escalates. He calls in the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, and commands them to kill every Hebrew baby boy at birth. The story has moved from cruel to horrifying.

A Mom Protects

Shiphrah and Puah are not mothers to every baby they help deliver, but they step into a fiercely maternal role. They “fear God” and refuse to obey Pharaoh’s command to take innocent life.

Their courage shows what moms—and women who mother—do in a world of danger: they protect. They step between vulnerable lives and forces of harm. They stand “ten toes down” on conviction when pressured to compromise.

Protection can look dramatic, but often it is quiet and faithful. It is the late-night drive to pick up a teenager who made a bad decision, the willingness to say “no” when everyone else says “yes,” or the brave choice to leave an unsafe situation. It is the spiritual courage to pray, “As for this house, we will serve the Lord,” and live accordingly.

Shiphrah and Puah show that a mom protects, even when it is costly.

A Mom Praises

Exodus 2 shifts the camera to a Levite woman who gives birth to a son. She looks at him and recognizes something good, something special: “When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months.”

That phrase, “a fine child,” echoes the language of Genesis 1, where God looks at creation and calls it “good,” and humanity “very good.” This mother is not just saying, “He’s cute.” She is recognizing the goodness of God’s image in her child.

Before Moses ever delivers Israel, parts the sea, or stands before a burning bush, his mother speaks a word of blessing over his life. She sees him and calls out what is good.

Moms do this every day—often without realizing it. They speak life into children and students. They say, “You’re kind,” “You’re brave,” “You’re gifted,” “God is at work in you.” They attach identity to truth rather than failure. A mom praises, not with fake flattery, but with Spirit-led encouragement that points a child back to the God who made them.

A Mom Preserves

When the baby can no longer be hidden, his mother places him in a basket on the Nile, and his older sister stands at a distance “to see what would happen to him.” When Pharaoh’s daughter discovers the crying child, the sister steps forward with remarkable poise: “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”

Because of her quick thinking, the baby’s own mother is brought back to nurse and care for him—for a time—and the family is preserved.

This is the quiet, steady work of preservation. It is watching carefully, staying close, and knowing when to act. In many families, women hold together relationships, traditions, and reconciliation. They remember birthdays, call for peace when tensions rise, and keep showing up when life is messy.

Miriam’s courage and attentiveness preserved her brother’s life and protected her family’s bond. A mom preserves what is fragile—faith, family, and future—by staying near and stepping in at the right moment.

A Mom Provides

Pharaoh’s daughter sees the basket, hears the baby’s cries, and is “filled with compassion.” She knows he is a Hebrew child, yet she chooses mercy instead of cruelty. She adopts him as her own and raises him in Pharaoh’s household.

This woman did not give birth to Moses, but she provides for him in ways no one else could. She offers shelter from the Nile, a home in the palace, and access to education and opportunity.

Provision looks different in every season. Sometimes it is financial—working extra hours to keep the lights on. Sometimes it is physical—cooking, cleaning, driving, staying up with a sick child. Sometimes it is emotional—listening to the same fear or failure for the tenth time and responding with patience. Sometimes it is spiritual—praying without ceasing, opening Scripture, pointing back to Jesus.

A mom provides, and in doing so reflects the God who provides daily bread, living water, and ultimately salvation through Jesus.

Reflecting the Heart of God

Taken together, these five women—Shiphrah, Puah, Moses’ mother, his sister, and Pharaoh’s daughter—reveal something bigger than their individual stories. They show that the best of mothering reflects the very heart of God.

God protects his children. God speaks blessing and encouragement over his people. God preserves his promises when everything seems lost. God provides what is needed—from manna in the wilderness to grace at the cross and new life in Christ.

Women who protect, praise, preserve, and provide are not just “doing their best.” They are imaging the character of God in their homes, churches, classrooms, workplaces, and communities. Whether they raise children in their own home or help raise those in their circle of influence, their calling is sacred and significant.

Motherhood, in all its forms, is Kingdom work.

Next Steps: Living This Calling

This passage does not only describe what makes a mom; it invites a response.

-Post contributed & edited by Dave, one of our amazing volunteers!