Each year, a nation sets aside a day to honor and celebrate the person who arguably has the most profound influence on our lives—our mother.
And yet, this past March at the Commission on the Status of Women, despite the intense efforts of UFI and the broader pro-family coalition, we couldn’t keep the anti-family juggernaut from stripping the CSW outcome document of the most basic references to mother, maternal, motherhood, and maternal health.
Not one reference about mothers was included in the final version of the CSW 2026 Agreed Conclusions!
Why would the anti-family forces deem those words to be so threatening? No doubt Feminism has fomented the anti-motherhood sentiment throughout the world. One can argue it’s because anti-family forces understand the power of a mother and seek to downplay and keep women from recognizing and fulfilling their innate, intuitive, enduring and crucial societal role.
A great mother and leader
Joining UFI again at CSW this year was a woman whose life stands in quiet but powerful contrast to that trend—Carol Soelberg.
For more than 25 years, Carol has played an essential role in the success of United Families International. She has served twice as President, guiding the organization through pivotal, and difficult, times and helping build a network of talented, dedicated volunteers and leaders within United Families International. It is no exaggeration to say that UFI would not be what it is today without her.
But this Mother’s Day, we especially honor Carol for something even more foundational—her role as a mother.
Carol and her husband, Glade, are the parents of 13 children, and today enjoy a growing posterity of 70 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. Her influence extends far beyond her own family; she has been a role model to thousands and has received numerous honors, including Arizona Mother of the Year and National Mother of the Year, as well as recognition alongside her husband as both Arizona and National Parents of the Year.
How, you ask, has Carol been able to do all of this? In addition to her top-notch organizing and leadership skills, she possesses seemingly endless energy, confidence and calm assuredness with a complete focus on the needs of others. When you are with Carol Soelberg, you feel you are the most important person in the room. You can always trust that Carol will look for – and see – the best that is in you. She is a great teacher who understands human nature and uses her skills to bless others.
So here are a couple of tips from this extraordinarily skilled mother:
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- When asked how she handles all of the challenges and discipline issues that surely arise in a family of 13 children, Carol wisely replies: “I don’t waste time being frustrated or lamenting my situation, I focus on one thing: What hasn’t this child (or person in my life) yet learned or understood. Then I spend my energy figuring out the best way to teach them.”
- When life’s circumstances turn very difficult (and there have been, and continued to be, plenty of those!), the ever-optimistic Carol’s usual reply is a simple: “Isn’t that something! I can hardly wait to see what the Lord does with this one.” Then Carol goes to work, applying herself to be part of the solution.
This Mother’s Day, UFI honors Carol Soelberg, her husband Glade, and the entire Soelberg family for their sacrifices and enduring contributions to strengthening families.
We also extend our deepest appreciation to mothers everywhere—for their quiet sacrifices, steady influence, and unwavering devotion to their children.
Let me end with some of my favorite quotes about mothers:
- “There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one.” — Jill Churchill
- “A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.” — Cardinal Mermillon
- “Life began with waking up and loving my mother’s face.” — George Eliot
And to our radical feminist friends at the UN, this reminder:
“Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother.” — Lin Yutang
Honoring mothers everywhere,
Wendy Wixom, President
United Families International