So, while no mom wants to be caught dead in a pair of mom jeans, moms all over the world do seem to have the same kind of Mom GENES. I realized this while visiting the home of Graciela in Guyaquil, Ecuador, with Compassion.

Mom Gene 1: Moms pray for their kids.

Graciela prays for her children to have a better life than hers. She prays constantly that God will protect her children, because in places like Colinas de Mapasingue, violence that could consume her children is a reality that sits waiting just outsider her door.

Mom Gene 2: A mom’s work is never done.

Moms are never off the clock. Sick days do not exist, and like many women, Graciela is pulling double duty. Work is hard to come by in Ecuador and money is scarce. Her husband is gone six days a week trying to provide for his family, which means she is basically doing it all single mom style. The work is hard, but she will never give up on her kids.

Mom Gene 3: Being Mom-enough.

Many moms struggle with the idea that they are inadequate or deficient in some way as a mom, that somehow they are less than enough. The feeling of not being perfect enough or smart enough can be crippling.

As I looked around Graciela’s tiny cinder block home, I noticed a diploma. I assumed it was one of her children’s accomplishments put on display by a proud mother, but when I asked about it, she told be it was her high school diploma that she just received. I wanted to know why it was important for her to have her diploma at this stage in her life?

She told me the reason she went back to school was not to better herself, but rather to make things better for her kids by being able to help them with their homework. To help them accomplish their dreams. That is what being a mom is all about, and Graciela’s kids are going to be so much better off because of her Mom Genes.