Tomorrow, May 9th, 2021 is Mother’s Day. Actually, you may be reading this on that very day, or even days and days later. That’s okay – this will still be relevant, even then.
I’ve got a little something I want to share with all of you tonight. It’s not much, and it’s certainly not anything dipped in gold or written in stone, but it’s something that’s on my heart. It’s not going to be 100% grammatically correct and some of it may not even make sense. That’s okay, though, I just want to get it out and pray that someone, somewhere, takes something that’s said here and applies it to their own life, or even at the very least, gets some encouragement from it.
Most people that know me know my background. Meaning, my childhood and a little about some things I’ve been through in my life. But for those of you who don’t, I lost my mother when I was eight-years-old. She had stage 4 ovarian cancer and God called her home on November 2nd, 2008. I tell you this so you know where I’m coming from as I write this to you. I’m not trying to make anyone feel sorry for me or make anyone sad – that’s not my purpose here. My purpose is to love, share, and be a light in whatever way the Lord sees fit.
Let me know your thoughts and share this with a friend if you think hearing anything written below would make their day even just a little bit brighter.
If you are a mom (or a grandmother),
I want to say thank you. Thank you for accepting the role that God has designed for women since the world began. Thank you for raising leaders. Lovers. Doers. Difference-makers. Lights that shine so brightly for the Lord that the whole world can see it. Thank you for loving us, taking care of us, and putting up with us, even when we drive you absolutely insane. Thank you for raising us up in the word of God, and showing us the right paths to take in life. Thank you for always showing us enough love and kindness to guide us back onto those paths when we wander off of them.
Even if you’re a mom who’s kid/kids aren’t there to celebrate with you this year, know that their presence and love still surrounds you to this day, even if it seems otherwise at times. Even if they can’t be heard, or seen, or felt. Even if this year looks different than Mother’s Days you’ve known in the past. You are loved, seen, and appreciated more than you know. And my heart goes out to every one of you.
If you are celebrating with your mother this year,
I want to say hug her. Remind her of how much you love her – and if not in words, then in actions. Remind her of how thankful you truly are for her and everything she has done to get you where you are today. Because whether you see it or not – whether you realize it now or not – the day will come when you don’t have that opportunity anymore. The day will come when you reflect back and think, “I wish I had hugged her tighter. I wish I had held her longer. I wish I had said more ‘I love you’s’ and less ‘mom is so annoying’s’.” So hug them tighter, love them deeper, care for them more – not only on Mother’s Day, but every day following it.
If you’re celebrating without your mother this year,
I want to say you are seen. Heard. Loved. Cherished. The pain you feel can be felt. And while people all over the world (even 99% of your closest friends and family members) are celebrating with their moms, buying them gifts, and getting to spend another year with them, God feels the ache in your chest knowing that you won’t ever have another opportunity like that. God catches the tear that rolls from your eye when you think about not buying her gifts, or cooking her dinner, or making her favorite dessert for her ever again. He knows the pain you feel every year. Every day. I encourage you, even though it’s hard and it sucks sometimes, keep celebrating her. Keep talking about her and thinking about her. Because her memory – her love – is something to cherish forever. And she lives on forever through our words when we talk about her, or through our habits we picked up from her, or through the lessons we learned from her that go with us every single day, or through the wonderful things she taught to us with the life she lived.
Whatever Mother’s Day looks like for you this year, I hope you have a blessed one, surrounded by loving family and friends. I hope you know how much you are loved and how amazing you are, regardless of whether or not you’re a mother. God created you with a purpose, my sweet friend, and don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise!
A Christian Girl 