Happy Mother's Day

Tomorrow we will celebrate another Mother's Day. I'm not really sure what my clan has planned. As I reflect on the upcoming day, I think about what it means to be a Mom. As I've said before, I adore being a Mama. When I was little and was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always said I wanted to be a Mom. I'm one of the few people I know that are blessed enough to do exactly what they dreamed of doing.

I adore the feeling of that little hand's fingers entwined in mine. I love to go and kiss the smooth cheek and smell the sweet breath of sleep. There isn't much a better feeling in the world than to have little ones rush into my arms when I've return, or look in the window and see them flashing "I love you" in sign language, as I drive away. I burst with pride when they reach new goals: riding with two wheels, writing their name,  reading a sentence or tying their shoes.

I rejoice and overflow with joy when they triumph, and scream on the inside (and sometimes on the outside) when they fail. I feel their pain when they hurt and their sorrow as if it were mine.(I'd much rather it be mine). They are usually some of the first things I pray for in the morning and before I close my eyes at night, I ask the Lord to hold them.

As they have grown I've discovered new joys. Reminiscing about the past and the things we've done and seen together gives me insights on experiences they had that I didn't even know were happening at the time. I see how God is shaping each of them, sometimes as a result of an answer to my prayer. I see bits of me and John in each of them, sometimes good, and sometimes, well, not so good. We get to discuss things, such as how we feel about various topics and their future hopes and dreams.  I discover they have some really neat thoughts. I love that they desire to still return home. I so look forward to seeing them come home, and I try to hide my tears when they leave again.

This special gift of motherhood has given me joy beyond all joy. On this Mother's Day Eve, I can't help but think that, in the case of two of my kids, my joy comes at the expense of another's. They are blessings entrusted to me as a result of someone else's loss. I genuinely feel sorrow for those moms. I don't know all the circumstances surrounding their abandonment, but I pray these women can somehow have peace and know that their children are being loved with all our being,  prayed for and are the light of mine and John's eyes.

I can't thank the Lord enough for giving me a dream and allowing me to live it! I pray that all Moms will realize the precious gift of being able to nurture and shape another life. There's not a better job in the whole wide world!!