It was July 6^th, 1984 on a Friday evening and she was cleaning out a fish tank at 9 months pregnant and started having contractions. She got my Aunt to watch my older sister, and she and my father headed to Parkway Regional Hospital in Lithia Springs, Georgia. Two hours later I was born into the world. Grace Carter my mother, had gave birth to me. Her initial reaction when she saw me, she was happy I was a healthy baby. God blessed me with an amazing mother who I do not take for granted.

Thirty-four years later she is still amazing. A few of her roles other than mother include wife, sister, friend, prayer warrior, nurse, counselor, teacher, doctor, bank accountant, financial advisor, taxi cab driver, chef and life coach just to name a few. Grace Sterling Carter started her work career as a teacher for 2 years in Harris County, Georgia. In 2017 she retired from Lockheed Martin in Marietta, Georgia as an Aircraft Inspector after 37 years. During her retirement years she has reverted to her original passion which is teaching. She currently volunteers at a local Elementary School in Fulton County, Georgia teaching kindergarteners their sight words through a program called Sight Seeing Saints. Grace Carter explained she started volunteering when a thoughtful neighbor thought she would be helpful to the children. She has been married for 45 years to Charles Carter. Throughout my life I have seen my mother work very hard and treat people with dignity and respect. She started her motherhood career in 1979 when she birthed my sister, (Chernay Woods). I came along in 1984. Her new role is being a grandmother to one granddaughter and two grandsons. Her greatest delight of being a grandmother is spending time with her grandchildren and watching them grow up.  Her greatest amazement of being a parent is watching her children set goals and attain them and watching them overcome obstacles in life and keep moving forward. Being a mother is the utmost joy God has given her. She explained motherhood comes with headaches and heartaches knowing that your children will experience pain that you can’t protect them from, but you can be there for them. According to Grace Carter the best part of being a mother is watching her children grow into strong and independent adults. As a seasoned mother the advice she would give mothers right now is to have growing patience, listen to your children, be aware of their surroundings and don’t be afraid to set boundaries for your children that will help them into adulthood.  

Yes, I would love to have children. Going on 35 I have been asked “Do you want any children”? Yes, I do in Gods timing. God’s timing is not our timing. So, I will say that to any women struggling with the fact that they are not a mother yet. God has a plan for your life. There are many programs where you can mentor children as well as fostering or adopting a child. I surveyed multiple mothers of different ages and backgrounds on their experience of being a mother. The greatest joy of motherhood according to these women was knowing that God blessed them with being a child’s guide throughout life. The most difficult part of motherhood according to the survey was not being able to spend as much time with them and trying to protect them in this world. The last question I asked the mothers was what motherhood has taught you about yourself: Majority of the women answered motherhood has taught them patience and showed them that they could love unconditionally. The survey showed me we are a Motherhood Village (Aunts, Family, Friends and Community). I stand on the shoulders of giants. Which means before my mother there was greatness to guide her, my maternal grandmother Elizabeth Sterling and my paternal grandmother Bessie Carter. They poured into my mother as a young mother and this generation must do the same. There are currently single mothers, widowed mothers, mothers of different cultures, foster mothers, mothers who have adopted, grandmothers raising children and so many more. The one thing God entrusted these women to do was to be a guiding light to our precious children. If we all did that, imagine what a wonderful world this would be. Grace Carter encourages mothers to pray over their children at all times and ask God for guidance. Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing women around the world.

Chernika Carter