as i drove to san francisco, a blanket of fog swallowed the city. tears filled my eyes as i prayed for my client who lost her son to brain cancer this week. anguished by her loss, i thought about how she could possibly face days like tomorrow – mother’s day. my mind wandered to other women in my life – the woman who struggles with infertility, the woman who knows she has been called to adopt, the woman who is waiting for the phone call from the birth mom, the pregnant woman who is waiting to give birth, the woman who feels called to use her maternal love in her ministry to broken children, and the little girl who dreams of one day being a mom herself.
when i was a little girl, my church would give all women a rose and all the females would stand up to be recognized on mother’s day – no matter how old they were. i didn’t completely understand at the time, i just enjoyed the recognition that my brothers didn’t receive. years later, i look back and see how important that was for a little girl to understand that as a woman she was created differently with intentional purposes. now that i am 21 27 years old and still childless, i have learned that being a mother is not one dimensional. i grew up thinking that mother’s day was only for my mom who naturally-birthed and raised her six biological kids…it wasn’t for my grandma, friend’s mom, my aunt. It was for no one else but my mom. and although my respect for my mom and her hard work is immense, it still took me years to realize that motherhood comes in other forms of courage and self-sacrifice. it shows itself in the woman who cares for and takes on the responsibility to nurture, teach, love & protect someone outside of themselves. God created women with these innate maternal gifts to ultimately display His Glory and His purpose.
as you enjoy mother’s day sunday, look for God’s Glory in all the women in your life who are putting another being before themselves. celebrate His Perfect design in the artistry and complexity of motherhood.
celebrate the pregnant woman who is nurturing and caring for her unborn baby for nine months.
celebrate the woman who went through one of the most painful moments a woman could experience in order to give another human a life.
celebrate the woman who has tiredly yet joyfully made it through her first year of motherhood.
celebrate the little girl who raises money year-long for the children in africa in order to care for them…and who will one day be a mother to someone.
celebrate the woman who battles infertility and yet is a mother to so many others.
celebrate the mother of the bride.
celebrate the adopted mom who openly and lovingly gave a child a safe home. and celebrate the birth mom who “put the needs of her baby before the wants of her heart”. [ronnie.]
and forever celebrate the mom who will be there until the very end…
Well said SIL…once again you brought tears to my eyes! Xo