Hey Mommas.

Happy Mother’s Day.

I have never meant this more in my life.  To my mom that got up in the middle of the night to hold me when I was sick.  To her mother who did the same for her.  And so on.  I always knew I wanted a family.  I always wanted to live up to half the mother mine was.  I don’t know if I’m there yet.  The family I have now certainly looks different than the one I had once pictured.

This is what I do know-  Being a caregiver, a tear wiper, a food provider, a disciplinarian, a teacher, a maid, etc... Well, it’s not the easiest job in the world.  I have this overwhelming feeling that the position of motherhood almost chooses you.  No matter how carefully you plan and prepare for it, it happens.  It is not something anyone can ease in to.  It is all at once, whether you have one beautiful baby, or you happen to have a few more than the parenting books tell you is a good idea.  Some of us may have those nine months to prepare, but in reality it doesn’t happen till it happens and there is this person there.  This person that needs food, attention, doctor’s visits, clothes, and therapy (well hopefully not all kids).

Christ like.  That’s what you have to strive for.  Because without Christ the calling of caring for a child can defeat you.  And defeat you real good.  

On good days and bad days I am thankful for my mom.  I am thankful for the times she cried with me, for the times she put me in my place, for those bedtime stories, for those many nights she prayed with me the same prayers (I was a very un-original as a 7 year old), for all those band-aids, for the pep-talks, and for her faith when I had none.  She is a woman clothed in strength.  Something she learned from her mother and from God. 

I am learning.  Oh how I fumble and stumble even at the smallest things. But, I do remember.  I remember the way my Mom loves me, the way Christ loves me, and the way every child no matter where they are from or what statistics say should be loved.  I remember when I am tired, at the end of my patience, and when I am laughing with these gifts God has placed in front of me a bit sooner than I thought.

So shout out to all those mommies out there.  The way you love may even stretch farther that you could imagine one day.  I know my mother’s love has.

“Her hands reach out to the poor, and she extends her hands to the needy.” Proverbs 31:20