Eve... mother.... the most important job.

Did you ever wonder what Genesis 3:20 means?

Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.

Eve huh?  Well in the Hebrew, it reads:

וַיִּקְרָא הָאָדָם שֵׁם אִשְׁתּוֹ, חַוָּה: כִּי הִוא הָיְתָה, אֵם כָּל-חָי.

The word in red is pronounced Chavah  where the ch is kind of a clearing your throat sound.  This word is very similar to the verb for "to live'.  I often wondered how the word Eve relate to being the mother of all living.

In Hebrew the word mother is pronounced em so the idea that the word Eve means mother doesn't quite fit.  What does fit though it the part about all the living.  Chava = Eve.

If you think about it, being the mother is a pretty important job.  Up until the last few decades, the primary job for a woman was to take care of the home but also to raise and train the next generation.  It's interesting because just this last Tuesday in our women's group, our leader Janet Caldon taught on John 6 but most importantly on John 6:8-13

Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up.
“There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”
“Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.)  Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted.  After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.”  So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.

We of course have always thought about the amazing miracle of the loaves and fishes but Janet taught on the "Power of One" and what one person can do to make a difference.  In this case, consider who packed that little boy's lunch and who was likely standing nearby when Andrew spoke of the lunch that they used.  The boy's mother.  She had an important role in this.  First she packed the lunch then took the boy to see the amazing Rabbi that everyone was talking about.

Later, in our groups we were discussing who each of us were as the "One" in someone else's life.  One women mentioned that she felt so inadequate so many times.  This made me consider how often we, as women feel like we fall short of the mark. He also tries to get stay at home mothers to feel like they are less important than those who are career women.

Stay at home moms.. your job is more important than being a CEO for a fortune 500 company.    You are guiding and shaping the lives of the next generation.  God has given you the most important job in the world.  Don't ever let the enemy tell you differently.  He is trying to make you feel that way because he knows you have such an important job.