My Mom

It is hard to believe that this will be my third Mother's Day. To me, it is a very special day. Not because it is a day devoted to mother's (some in my family like to think I think the world revolves around me...hehe)...but because I am reminded about what being a mom means. You don't really know that special, amazing, one-of-a-kind love until you are actually holding your baby in your arms. It is a scary kind of love as well as the most rewarding kind.

As I reflect on what this day means, I am reminded of my own mother. When I think of my mom and who she is, this is what I think of...

A mother...

-Cries with and for her child

-Laughs with her child

-Rejoices with her children

-Stays up at all hours of the night when her child is sick or simply can't sleep

-Praises her child

-Disciplines her child

-Prays for her child for health, wisdom, guidance, safety, joy

-Does everything in her power to protect her child

-Loves her child with an unconditional love

-Hurts when her child is hurting

-Teaches and inspires her child to dream

-Nurses their child back to health

-Reads to her child the same book over and over...and over

-Has a special patience for her child that no other person could understand

-Hopes for her child and believes in them

-Is sometimes the only one that is on her child's side

-Has open arms...all the time

-Points her child back onto the rode when they starts to stray

-Is full of a kind of strength that only a mother can possess

-Encourages her child in down times

-Is the glue that holds the family together

-Is a nurse, a teacher, a cook, a peacemaker, a lawmaker, an actress (for those times we have to entertain our children), a singer, a friend

I am a blessed and thankful child that has had a mother that has been everything above and more. My mother has taught me what it means to love. She has taught me that in everything I do, in every decision I make, I am to take it to the Lord. I am to lean on His strength, on His word, and on His faithfulness. She has shown me that these things that I have listed can't be taught to you...they are there from the moment your own child enters the world. Thank you, mom, for being my mom, for being every single thing I listed. Thank you for your example spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Thank you for listening to me ball my eyes out over the phone and have that special way of bringing calmness and clearness to the situation. Thank you for taking care of me when I was sick. Thank you for staying up with me during the night after a breakup or a fight with a friend. Thank you for never giving up on me and pushing me to be the best I could be. Thank you for the time you have spent in my classroom before school started to make sure everything was all set up. Thank you for driving over to my house to watch the kids when I thought I might lose it. Thank you for disciplining me...every single day of my life...haha...just kidding. Thank you for attending all those basketball games that I cheered at. Thank you for being the best babysitter for our babies. Thank you for coming with me to the doctor appointments to help with the kids. Thank you for cleaning my house with I was sick as a dog during my first pregnancy. Thank you for being there for me to cry to after my miscarriage and letting me know it was ok to grieve. Thank you for being their to rejoice in the birth of my 2 babies. Thank you for all of the laughs you have brought into my life and the unforgettable memories. These words will never be able to express my true gratitude for everything you have done in my life...for everything that you have been to me and for me. Thank you for not only being my mother, but my friend. When everything else seems to be falling all around me, you have always been there to lift me back up, and for that I am grateful. Thank you for praying for me. My prayer is that I will be the mom for my children that you have been for me. I pray that I am an example for my children the way you have been for me. I love you, mom. Happy Mother's Day!