As I reflect on tomorrow, I can honestly say I don't think I really ever thought those words... "Happy Mother's Day"....were ever going to apply to me or my life.
I've spent so many years....sitting in church on Mother's Day.... listening to children's choirs sing to their mother's, watching small children run up to their moms with art projects or flowers, and observing women of all ages smile lovingly as those around them say those three special words....HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
So, as the week wore on, and this special day drew closer, I fully expected to be flooded with emotion. This is MY year....my year as a mother...to be honored for loving a child(ren) with all the love my heart can muster. This is my year to be recognized for all the days, hours, minutes....caring for a little person who is completely dependent on me for every need in his/her life. This is my year....to be pampered, showered with love and appreciation for doing the job that only I...as a woman, can do....BE A MOTHER!
And yes...flooded with emotion I have been, but not for the reasons listed above.
I want to sit next the girl in church that is silently suffering from infertility and say...I understand!
I want to hug any woman who has lost a child (through death, miscarriage, failed adoption, or reunification of foster child) and say...I'm so very sorry!
I want to hold the hand of the birth mother who made the selfless, courageous decision to place their child for adoption and say...I admire you!
I want to extend a sincere smile the woman on the waiting list for an adoption match and say...I've been there and your wait will come to an end!
I want to touch the shoulder of those that do not have a mother, whether through death or loss of relationship and say...you are not alone!
I want to acknowledge those ladies who are kid-less....either by choice or circumstance and say....you make an impact on my child's life!
I'm so blessed to have an amazing mother...and I thank God every day for her, the wonderful influence she has had on my life, and her unwavering love and support! And now...I can say that I'm also blessed to be a mother. Through God's amazing love and blessings, he has given me the opportunity and responsibility to love one of His children...for they are all His, not ours!
But I will never....EVER....go through this day....this weekend of Mother's Day, without being thankful for my past. I will never go through this day without being thankful to those women in my life that were not my mother, but made a huge impact on my life and the woman I have become today. I will never let a Mother's Day go by....that I won't pray for those women for whom Mother's Day is not a happy day.
