Whoa! Jeremiah did not hold back! In today’s first reading, he makes it clear that he’s pretty frustrated about his role as a prophet, and downright angry!

But be honest, doesn’t it sound like mothering? Sometimes?

Jeremiah tells the Lord, You duped me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped (Jer 20:7). I was duped too! Duped by endless invitations to friends’ baby showers and all the adorable gifts they received. Not once did I see the breast pump and nipple cream pulled out of a glittery gift bag to be oohed and awed over! Yet, those became my most-used baby items while hiding in my classroom closet at lunchtime. Now my go-to gift for new moms is anything that can give them comfort those first few days of nursing.

All the day I am an object of laughter; everyone mocks me (Jer 20:7). That hits home! From dragging small kids through the grocery store with what felt like the whole store staring at us to my son tracking down the nicest-looking moms on the playground and asking them for snacks, sometimes motherhood seems like an endless run of embarrassing situations. These days I get mocked by my own children: “Mom, you looked so funny riding that horse,” or “Mom, you screamed so loud on that ride.” Then later, “horseback riding was so fun,” and “today was the best day ever!” That’s how I continue to get duped!

Jeremiah’s next complaint hardly needs an explanation in comparison to motherhood. He says, Whenever I speak, I must cry out, violence and outrage is my message (Jer 20:8).

Every. Single. Day. Or at least it feels that way.

Maybe not so much violence, but I’m pretty sure a day does not go by that I don’t cry out in outrage about something that has happened in our household. And for a time, I feel like that’s just how it has to be. Children will continue to do outrageous things, and we will continue to react. That’s how we all learn, both my children and me.

Like Jeremiah, the message continues to burn inside us, but we still carry on the work of motherhood. But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in (Jer 20:9). It’s hard to be a mother just as it’s hard to be a prophet, yet we continue to long to be the moms God called us to be. And sometimes, despite the good, the bad, and the embarrassing, we even have another baby. Because the beauty always ends up outweighing the pain.

So, go ahead and let yourself be duped into motherhood. Or maybe, like I was at all those baby showers long ago, try to pull a few more mothers-to-be into the mix. Let them smell your newborn baby’s head. Show off your teen’s perfectly straight teeth, not mentioning the years of orthodontic appointments. Because, as Jeremiah shows us, two things can be true. We can feel frustrated by our role as mothers and act as prophets of the holiness of motherhood at the same time.