Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day. One of those "Hallmark" days when cards and flowers are almost mandatory expressions of love from sons and daughters to their mothers. In my family, we don't have any hard and fast traditions that we adhere to in terms of celebratory get togethers. Schedules and locales don't always allow for everyone to be together at the "right" time, and so whatever day I can see any of my children or grandchildren is special to me. Having them all together is indeed rare, and so we arrange this whenever opportunities present themselves.

This year, I received a card and gift from one child out of three. Am I disappointed? No way. As I drove my son to the bus station today after a three day visit, he said "oh yeah, today is Mother's Day." I guess it wasn't a priority for him to remember the day, let alone buy me a card. He was apologetic about this, but I told him that having him for a visit was a gift in itself. And he knows I meant it.

When they were small, my kids all made the usual "treasures" and hand made cards in school for Mother's Day. I wish I had kept more of them. Those days seem so long ago, and I often wish I could go back and relive just a few of those precious times.

Being a mom is a gift in itself. Lots of women aren't able to have children who want them desperately. God blessed me with three. Every day is "Mother's Day", because every day is a day I know they are out there, grown up now, and making their way in the world.

Being a mother doesn't end when they grow up and leave home. They don't always make the choices that I would want them to, and this is sometimes hard to watch. Yet I have the wonderful privilege and blessing of lifting them up to my Father in Heaven, and asking Him to bless and keep them, and to bring them into His family. I can no longer watch over them and make sure they are safe, but He can. So I lift them up today, and trust that He will. I thank Him for them, and for the awesome privilege of being their mother, every day.