Motherhood Matters for the Future of America
Dear Moms for Liberty,
There is nothing quite like motherhood.
As a teenager, I was convinced I did not want to be a mother. It seemed burdensome, and I had dreams of traveling, seeing the world and being free. I saw children as something that would interrupt those dreams, weigh me down and confine me to a life I wasn’t sure I wanted.
Then I gave birth to my firstborn.
And everything changed.
The moment I held his tiny body against mine, something in me shifted almost instantly. In the weeks that followed, my son suffered seizures, a stroke and spent time in the NICU. I didn’t know if he would live, and if he did, I didn’t know what his quality of life would be.
And suddenly, I understood motherhood.
In that moment, I knew without hesitation that I would give everything to save him, even my own life. Nothing else mattered anymore. My priorities, my dreams and my plans all became irrelevant in an instant. My existence, and every decision I made, became centered on my children.
I share this because I know every one of you has your own motherhood story. Some of you always knew you wanted to be mothers. Others grew into that calling over time. Some in our Moms for Liberty family have not had children of your own, but you pour your love, care, and wisdom into nieces, nephews, students and the children God has placed in your life.
But what unites us is this: love makes us willing to sacrifice.
Years ago, I learned something about the word sacrifice that perfectly describes motherhood.
The word comes from the Latin sacrificium:
sacer / sacra = holy, sacred, set apart.
Literally, sacrifice means “to make sacred” or “to make holy” and that changed the way I understood motherhood.
When a mother sacrifices for her child, she is not merely giving something up. She is making that relationship sacred.
And that is what I see each of you doing every day.
The work you do, what some call “activism” through Moms for Liberty did not begin when you joined this organization. It began the day you became responsible for the children in your life.
Because mothers are the first teachers.
Mothers shape morals, values, and character.
Mothers teach security through consistency and presence.
Mothers teach love and show children their worth.
Mothers help shape identity.
Mothers model integrity, resilience, kindness, and courage.
George Washington famously said, “All I am I owe to my mother.” He understood the sacred role of motherhood.
The founders of our country understood it.
With the birth of a new nation and a new form of government (one in which the people held the power) it became more important than ever that children were raised to love what is good, beautiful, and true.
The survival of our Republic depends on it.
Mothers have the sacred responsibility of raising children to be virtuous, moral, and grounded in the true meaning of Liberty. Because without virtue, how can a free people govern themselves?
From the earliest days of our nation, mothers played a vital role in raising citizens capable of self-government.
John Adams once wrote:
“Whenever I hear of a great man, I always inquire, who was his mother.”
America is strong when her children are strong. And children are strong when families are strong. The family is not just the basic unit of society, it is the foundation of freedom itself.
If we lose the right to raise our children according to truth, virtue, and Liberty, we risk losing the very foundation of our nation.
That is why the work you do matters.
It matters in your homes.
It matters in your schools.
It matters in your communities.
And it matters for the future of America.
This Mother’s Day, I want to acknowledge the sacrifices you make, not only as mothers, but as members of Moms for Liberty, standing courageously for the future of our children and our country.
The work you do each day is sacred.
Thank you for your courage, for your sacrifices and for preserving the Liberty that so many before us fought to secure.
I pray each of you has a Happy Mother’s Day!
With Gratitude,
Tina