A Mother's Strength, Sacrifice & Love

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Wolves & Wisemen Reignited — Episode 28

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About This Episode

This week, we put the spotlight on moms.

The guys dig into Proverbs 31:25–26 and Isaiah 66:13 and talk about strength, wisdom, kindness, comfort, sacrifice, discipline, and the enormous influence mothers have on the people their children eventually become.

That turns into personal stories about the women who raised us—from single mothers working nights and raising four boys alone, to moms showing up for baseball, keeping families together, teaching hard lessons, taking in the neighborhood strays, and somehow always knowing exactly what their kids need.

The conversation also gets into something most people don't fully understand until they're older:

How much did our mothers sacrifice that we never noticed as kids?

From there, Episode 28 moves into the Rebel Report, privacy and surveillance concerns surrounding new vehicle technology, current events, Folks on Fire, Boners, This Day in History, Cinco de Mayo, family stories, birthdays, and the kind of completely unplanned conversations that make Wolves & Wisemen what it is.

And yes—there was supposed to be a Fringe Files about ancient underground cities.

We talked too long about moms.

So we're saving that rabbit hole for next time.

The Check In

Strength & Dignity

Proverbs 31:25–26

“Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”

The first verse paints a picture of a woman whose strength isn't simply physical.

She carries herself with dignity.

She faces uncertainty without allowing fear to control her.

She speaks with wisdom.

And what she says to the people around her can bring kindness, encouragement, direction, and peace.

That's one of the things the guys keep coming back to throughout this Check In.

A mother's influence isn't always found in some huge defining moment.

Sometimes it's the thousands of little things.

Getting the kids where they need to be.

Working when everyone else is sleeping.

Making sure there's food.

Knowing where everything in the house is.

Showing up to practices and games.

Giving advice.

Giving encouragement.

And occasionally reminding you that she brought you into this world and can take you back out of it.

You Understand the Sacrifice Later

One of the strongest conversations in Episode 28 is about how differently we see our parents once we become adults.

As kids, we notice what we don't have.

As adults, we begin noticing what our parents gave up so we could have what we did.

Murph talks about being raised with three brothers by a single mother who worked nights so she could still be there before school and when the boys came home.

There wasn't always much money.

There were hand-me-down clothes.

McDonald's was a treat.

And four boys meant structure and discipline weren't optional.

At the time, that could feel unfair.

Years later, it looks completely different.

You begin seeing the exhaustion.

The missed sleep.

The money stretched farther than it should have gone.

The opportunities they gave up.

The fear they probably never told you about.

And the fact that they kept going anyway.

Sometimes gratitude requires growing up enough to finally understand what somebody did for you.

A Mother's Comfort

Isaiah 66:13

“As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.”

The second verse brings out another side of motherhood.

Comfort.

Safety.

Compassion.

God uses the comfort of a mother as an image for His own comfort.

Combined with Proverbs 31, the two passages create a powerful picture.

A mother can be strong without losing tenderness.

She can discipline while still being a place of safety.

She can correct you and still be the person you call when everything falls apart.

She can prepare you for the world while reminding you that you still have somewhere to come home to.

Sometimes Mom Has to Be the Tough One

Motherhood isn't only comfort.

Sometimes love looks like discipline.

The guys trade stories about getting caught smoking, staying out too late, doing stupid things as teenagers, getting into trouble, and realizing very quickly that disappointing Mom could be considerably worse than whatever punishment anybody else had planned.

Those stories are funny years later.

But there's something underneath them.

Good parents aren't raising children simply to keep them happy today.

They're trying to raise adults who can survive tomorrow.

And sometimes the lesson you hated as a teenager becomes one of the lessons you appreciate most as an adult.

When Mom Becomes Your Friend

One of the more personal parts of the conversation is about the transition that can happen as children get older.

Your mother begins as an authority figure.

Then, if you're fortunate, something else develops.

Friendship.

The guys talk about reaching the point where Mom became someone they could call when they were scared, confused, in trouble, or simply needed somebody who would listen without immediately judging them.

That relationship doesn't erase the fact that she's your mother.

It adds another layer to it.

And sometimes that trust becomes one of the most important relationships you'll have as an adult.

The Moms Who Took Us In

Family isn't always limited to blood.

Episode 28 also gives a shout-out to the women who become second moms, adopted moms, friends' moms, mothers-in-law, and the women who simply decide:

“You're one of ours now.”

Sometimes life gives you more than one mother figure.

They're the women who feed everybody.

Keep everybody organized.

Open their homes.

Give advice nobody asked for but probably needed.

And somehow end up caring about kids who aren't technically theirs.

Those relationships matter too.

Fathers Doing the Mom Job

The conversation also recognizes fathers who have had to fill both roles.

Raising children alone means there isn't always somebody else to handle the uncomfortable conversation, the emotional crisis, the school problem, the relationship issue, or the hundred other things parents encounter.

Sometimes parenting simply becomes:

Do what has to be done.

The guys talk about learning to listen, creating relationships where their children feel safe talking to them, and accepting that sometimes being a father means stepping into responsibilities traditionally associated with Mom.

It isn't always comfortable.

But that's parenting.

Rebel Report

After spending much longer than planned on the Check In, the guys finally jump into the Rebel Report.

The conversation covers current events, political violence, security concerns, media stories, and another discussion about technology being placed into newer vehicles.

One of the biggest conversations centers on proposed impaired-driving technology, driver monitoring, privacy, data collection, and concerns about how increasingly connected vehicles could use information about the person behind the wheel.

That quickly turns into a much broader question:

How much privacy are we willing to trade for technology that's supposed to make life safer or more convenient?

And naturally, the guys conclude that old trucks might suddenly become a lot more valuable.

Folks on Fire

With Mother's Day approaching, moms naturally make their way into Folks on Fire too.

The guys recognize their own mothers and the women who helped raise them, while sharing family photos, stories, and memories.

There's also a birthday celebration for Deegan, who turns 14, along with the usual amount of father-son trash talk.

This Day in History

Episode 28 takes another trip through history, including:

Alan Shepard becoming the first American in space

Napoleon dying in exile

The first MLB perfect game

Historical inventions

Cinco de Mayo and the Battle of Puebla

Mexican-American culture

A few historical facts that immediately get derailed by the guys

The Cinco de Mayo discussion also clears up a common misconception:

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla in 1862—it isn't Mexican Independence Day.

Fringe Files... Next Week

Episode 28 was originally supposed to head underground.

Ancient underground cities.

Real discoveries.

Massive structures hidden beneath the earth.

And plenty of questions.

There was just one problem:

We spent too damn long talking about moms.

By the time the guys reached the end of the show, they were already over two hours in.

So instead of rushing through Fringe Files, the underground-city discussion gets pushed to the next episode.

Sometimes the rabbit hole has to wait.

Mom comes first.

Key Takeaways

You probably understand your mother more at 30 than you did at 15.Growing older gives you a completely different perspective on the sacrifices your parents made.

Strength and compassion aren't opposites.Proverbs 31 and Isaiah 66 show two sides of motherhood: strength and dignity alongside comfort and tenderness.

Sacrifice often happens quietly.Some of the biggest things mothers do are the things children never notice while they're happening.

Discipline can be an expression of love.The lesson you hated as a teenager might be the one you appreciate later.

The relationship with your mother can change as you grow.Authority can eventually develop into friendship, trust, and mutual respect.

Family isn't always defined by blood.Some people are fortunate enough to collect additional mothers and families throughout life.

Parenting ultimately means doing what needs to be done.Whether you're a mother, father, single parent, or somebody helping raise a child, sometimes there isn't a manual—you simply show up.

Scripture From This Episode

Proverbs 31:25–26

Strength. Dignity. Wisdom. Kindness.

A picture of the influence a godly woman can have on her family and everyone around her.

Isaiah 66:13

“As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.”

A reminder that Scripture uses the comfort and tenderness of a mother to illustrate God's own comfort for His people.

Watch & Listen

This one is for Mom.

For the women who raised us.

The women who sacrificed for us.

The women who disciplined us.

The women who showed up when nobody else did.

And the women we probably didn't appreciate nearly enough when we were younger.

Pour something for Cinco de Mayo, call your mom, and join us for Episode 28 of Wolves & Wisemen Reignited.

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Wolves & Wisemen Reignited is about faith, family, grit, growth, current events, the unexplained, and honest conversations about the things we're figuring out along the way.

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