kid moms, cat moms, all moms

As I entered the room to pick up Jenna and Raegan from Sunday school this week, Jenna greeted me at the door with a bright orange pot and begonia planted in it and exclaimed, “This is for you, Mommy, for Mother’s Day.” She absolutely seemed with pride and asked if I liked it. I had kind of forgotten Mother’s Day is right here and it made me want to cry! I love flowers anyway and seeing her look of delight fed my soul. I know me and I know my failures and she so lovingly gave me a flower - her greatest treasure at the moment. This is priceless to me.

I want to take a moment to thank you moms out there - old moms, young moms, in-between moms, cat moms, hedgehog moms - you make a difference. All of us can probably agree that our moms earned every gray hair they have! Thank you for the diaper changes and cleaning up all the poop - I will just leave it there - no need to go into the graphic details of the horrors I have seen personally. Thank you for potty training with patience. Thank you for climbing the heights of the mountains of laundry and making sure we have clean clothes. Thank you for cleaning the bathrooms and vacuuming floors when you didn’t leave the crumbs. Thank you for every meal that was thought out, shopped for, and cooked. Thank you moms for the birthday parties put together and cakes baked with love, lopsided or not. Thank you for every costume ever created and helping with all the homework even when it drove you crazy. Thank you for taking us to and from school, parties, and practices - how stressful that might have become! Thank you for every tear that rolled down your cheek as you dropped us off before work or cried from exhaustion as a stay-at-home-mom. Thank you for your sacrifice as you drove the van you really didn’t want. Thank you for blowing bubbles with us and teaching us how to drive. Thank you for the nights you rocked babies to sleep and prayed over their sweet finally-still faces in bed. Thank you for celebrating our accomplishments and comforting us in disappointments. Thank you most of all for sharing a little example of how big Jesus’s love is for us!

Remembering what I needed from my mom and seeing how my own little people interact with me teaches me more about Jesus. I realize specific ways I can become more like Him. Unlike me, He never gets snippy and is never easily annoyed. He never is too tired to hear me call His Name - over and over and over. He always responds with gentleness and graciousness. He is always good and always protecting me. Not everyone has a relationship with her mom, so Jesus is so good to provide others to serve as moms. Thank you to those strong ladies out there who choose to serve as mom for boys and girls or men and women who are missing their moms. For those who feel like they missed out on a loving mom or a joyful childhood, Joel 2:25 lets us know, “I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust ate.” God can repair and bring joy despite a disappointing history. He can bring good from despair.

Thank you moms for all you do! You change history each day by teaching your people how to be like Jesus! All the laundry, chores, and dead-dog tired days are worth it. Love to you!

Hugs,

Charis