And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” – Luke 1: 28

What Solomon said of the virtuous woman applies to all mothers, in general, and to Mary, the mother of Jesus, in particular. …for her price is far above rubies. – (Proverbs 31: 10). We may never know which surprised Mary the most – that she was visited by an angel or that the angel addressed her as highly favored and blessed among women.

Often, mothers (and their children) do not acknowledge and appreciate their value. However, fortunately, God sees and celebrates that value even when no one else does. Mothers are valuable because among so many other reasons…

1. A mother risks her life to give life. Babies are born by the millions every day. It has become so routine that it has lost some of its mystery and miracle. Still, every time a woman’s water breaks, two lives are laid on the line. The virtue and value of the mother is that she is willing to risk her life for the life of her child.

2. A mother makes sacrifices throughout the child’s life. As bad as birth may be, it would be great if that was the end. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if mother and baby could just shake hands in the delivery room and go their separate ways? (Unfortunately, some do.) What actually happens is that, after the birth, the mother continues to give of herself every day from the time that the child is a baby to the time that he or she has their own babies and beyond. A mother’s sacrifice can never be overestimated or overcompensated.

3. A mother prays that her child has the best of life. Talk about her price being far above rubies? How much are a mother’s prayers worth? A thousand times, without the child’s awareness, the mother’s prayers have saved them, protected them, guided them, motivated them, blessed them and prospered them. A mother may not be able to bequeath a millions dollars to her child, but she sure can cover him or her with prayer. That (and she) is worth more than a million dollars!