There is nothing better than being a parent. It is the most

The words of Marlee Matlin, “There is nothing better than being a parent. It is the most challenging job one could ever ask for. I love being a mom and I love being a friend to my children as well,” rise like a hymn to the sacred calling of parenthood. Within them lives both joy and humility — the joy of creation and nurture, and the humility of knowing that to raise a child is not merely to guide another life, but to be transformed oneself. In her voice we hear the timeless echo of mothers and fathers across the ages, who have discovered that love’s greatest test and triumph are found in the act of raising another soul.

From the dawn of humanity, parenthood has been revered not as a task but as a holy labor. The ancients saw it as the mirror of divine creation itself: just as the gods shaped the world from chaos, so does a parent shape a child’s spirit from innocence. Yet Matlin’s words carry a deeper tenderness. She reminds us that to be a parent is not merely to command, but to walk beside — to become both guardian and companion, teacher and friend. The modern world often speaks of authority and discipline, but her wisdom is older: it tells us that love is strongest when it listens, when it understands, and when it grows with those it seeks to guide.

Her insight carries special weight, for Marlee Matlin, deaf since childhood, learned that love needs no voice to be heard. Her experience as both an artist and mother teaches that connection is not built from sound but from presence — from eyes that see, hands that comfort, and hearts that understand without words. In her life, motherhood is not merely biological, but spiritual: a union of patience, resilience, and faith. Through her challenges, she reminds us that true parenting is not about perfection, but perseverance through love.

There is a story from ancient times of Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, who waited twenty years for her husband’s return. Though her story is told as one of loyalty, her quiet strength as a mother is often forgotten. She raised her son Telemachus alone, nurturing wisdom and courage in him through her example of steadfastness. Like Marlee Matlin, she embodied the truth that to be a parent is to endure the storms so that one’s child may walk in calmer seas. The greatness of a parent lies not in ruling their children’s lives, but in preparing them to stand on their own.

Matlin’s words also reveal the paradox of parenting — that it is both the hardest and the most rewarding work one can do. No crown, no wealth, no acclaim can equal the quiet triumph of seeing one’s child become kind, brave, and good. Yet the journey is not without pain. Parenthood demands the sacrifice of self — of sleep, of freedom, of certainty. But within that sacrifice blooms the purest joy: the joy of giving life meaning beyond oneself. It is a reminder that love matures through responsibility, and that the soul expands in proportion to what it dares to nurture.

To love one’s children as both parent and friend is a balance few achieve easily. Friendship invites closeness, while parenthood requires guidance — yet Matlin shows that the two are not opposites, but complements. To be a friend to one’s child is not to abandon authority, but to rule through compassion. It is to teach not by fear, but by example. When children see their parents as allies rather than adversaries, they learn not only obedience, but trust. And trust, once earned, becomes the bridge that endures through all ages of life.

The lesson of her words is eternal: love is the first and final education. To be a parent is to plant seeds of character in the soil of the soul, knowing you may not live to see them fully bloom. It is to accept both the challenge and the privilege of shaping another destiny while allowing it to become something beyond your own. Let every mother, every father remember: your task is not to mold your children in your image, but to help them discover the divine image within themselves. For in the end, to raise a child with love, patience, and friendship is to participate in the very work of eternity — the creation and continuation of the human heart.