Happy Mother’s Day to everyone out there who is a mom, has a mom, acts as a mom-figure to someone, will be a mom, or is trying to become a mom.
Holidays are always filled with a variety of emotions and Mother’s Day is no exception. If you’ve lost your mom recently, or your family is not speaking or getting along, if you are trying to become a mom, if you are having problems with one of your kids…this day can be challenging.
Motherhood is blessed with and fraught with many emotions…love, intense love, fear, joy, worry, hope, sadness, contentment, happiness, pride, protective instinct, letting them go, watching them leave, regret, resignation, peace, celebration….every emotion known to mankind seems to be felt about and towards our kids at some point on the journey. It can be a rough ride at times and by no means is it anything like the pampers commercials! (But boy, I do tear up when I see one.)
The Army used to have a saying “it’s the hardest job you’ll ever love” well, I think that applies as much to motherhood as to the military. Think about it, there are a lot of similarities: It’s a battle at times, you can prep and prep and prep, but you’ll never be ready for the real deal til it happens…you get a kind of tunnel vision and a certain focused mindset and it’s as though the outside world doesn’t exist while you’re in the thick of it (anyone else out there humming the Sesame Street song at the grocery store? Or getting more involved in the plot of the latest Paw Patrol episode than the kids are? Yup, been there.)
Also, like the military, it takes a unified team to get the task completed. (Yes, Dad’s participation is necessary for the best outcome!) Then, of course, victory comes when you see the target marching away…to college. Just kidding… I think.
If you are going through a difficulty right now, concerning motherhood, if the little ones are driving you crazy, if you have a serious health concern about one of your kids, if you and your mom aren’t getting along, if you are trying to become a mom, or if a child has left this earth too soon…there is not much anyone can say to offer comfort except maybe this: God is always with you. God is there, in the middle of your mess, in the middle of your hardship, in the middle of your weakness and grief. He’s always with you. He just is. Just wrap your mind around that.
I will never leave you nor forsake you. Heb 13:5
Sometimes it seems to make no sense to struggle on your own, nothing’s working and you fight, and you try and try and try…but when you realize you are not doing it alone, and if you can give up the fight, and surrender it all up to God…? Well, that can be the sweetest sense of relief you will ever know.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
God Bless you all on this special day. I hope you have a peace-filled, joy-filled day with your loved ones.
A side note:
One of my favorite parts of Mother’s Day when the kids were little was (sorry kids!) the day before Mother’s Day when Dad would take them out shopping for me. It meant Two Blissful Hours of peace and solitude. A cup of coffee and a pointless novel or magazine. An undisturbed phone call to a friend, a bubble bath without interruption… a nap even! Ahh, the good old days.
So, Dads, Are You Listening!? If you haven’t done it this year, make a note for next year. Sometimes the greatest gift for Mother’s Day is a little respite from motherhood. Absence does make the heart grow fonder, and a two hour break is sometimes all we need. It makes everything about being a Mom a little bit sweeter when the little ones come bursting through the door.
