To My Mom (and the other Mommas out there)

My mom is kind, hard-working, self-sacrificing, supportive, compassionate, and faithful. She listens to me complain.  She listens to me laugh.  She listens to me worry.  She listens. She prays for me. And she gives good advice; sometimes too good.  Sometimes she gives advice I don’t want to hear, but she usually ends up being right. (For the record I’m only admitting this because today’s her day; otherwise, I like to keep her way of being right a deep, dark, hidden secret.) 

She encourages me to pursue my dreams and to never settle for mediocrity. She taught me how to tap-tease my hair.  She helped foster in me a love of learning and reading.  She is funny.  She is real.  She doesn’t sugarcoat the truth, and she admits when she needs to work on things. She is brave and inspiring.  Thank-you, Mom; I love you!

I could go on about all the greatness of my mom and the blessings God has given to me through my mom, and I’m sure that you can relate because in different or similar ways, your mom (or someone like a mom) has been a blessing to you like mine has been to me.

But I know for some of you Mother’s Day might be a hard day.  Your mom might not be around anymore; I hope you are able to cherish the memories.  You might have lost the chance to become a mom this year; I hope that you can find peace that God has plan that might be hard to see right now.  Maybe you never had a loving mother; I hope that God fills this void for you. 

Maybe you’ve made mistakes as a mother that you regret, or feel challenged in motherhood in ways you’ve never imagined…but what mother hasn’t?  Maybe you just feel weary and exhausted in the day to day tasks of being a mom.  Nothing is perfect.   If you need forgiveness, I hope you find the strength to ask for it and then rest assured that your slate is wiped clean and learn to forgive yourself.   If you need support, I hope you reach out to find it and that the right people come into your life for you to lean on. 

To all the moms--I hope you can find encouragement and God’s richest blessings on your calling to be a mom. THANK-YOU for pouring your life into the lives of your children.