The Gift of Motherhood

Today, Sunday, May 10, marks Mother’s Day of 2020. It is one of the most special days of the year and is the most popular holiday of the entire year to dine out, with nearly half of all Americans hitting a restaurant, according to the National Restaurant Association.

Mother’s Day started as an anti-war movement, with Anna Jarvis credited with founding it in the U.S. to promote global unity after the horrors of the American Civil War and Europe’s Franco-Prussian War. I can see why it was started that way–after all, we as moms are in a war with the enemy satan over our children! That’s why it is so important to pray every day over them!

When I was a child, all I wanted to be when I grew up was a mom and a writer. That’s exactly what happened. Today I am the mom of three beautiful, precious daughters, Heather, Eden, and Leah. I’m also the author of 20 books. I believe that being a mom is the most important, sacred job in the world.

No worldly success that I could ever achieve as a speaker and a writer would matter if I didn’t have a close relationship with my children. Next to my salvation through Jesus Christ, my children are the greatest gifts God has ever given me. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis said, “If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do well matters very much.” I so agree with this!

I’m 110% positive that I’ve made lots of mistakes as a mom. Our daughters are grown now and on their own. Since they moved out, I repented to God and our kids for any sins I committed as a mother as Ray and I raised them. I think it’s important to let your kids know that you’re so not perfect and you mess up, too, and that is why we need Jesus as our Savior and the Holy Spirit as our Helper. As I saw on a T-shirt on Etsy, it’s often a“Messy mom bun, Coffee Run, Get it done” kind of day!

But I also let our daughters know how very much I love them and how important they are to God and me, and that He has a great plan for their lives (Jeremiah 29:11). They may be grown now, but they’re forever on my mind. Sophia Loren said, “When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.”

One of the hardest things about the Coronavirus and the Shelter in Place orders has been that I haven’t been able to see my kids and my grandkids for over a month now. It’s been so hard! With the curve flattening, Missouri’s governor has begun to re-open the state for business. Yesterday I was able to see and hug our youngest daughter Leah! I picked up cheeseburgers and fries at Freddy’s and we went to the park, eating at a picnic table in the sunshine and fresh air. I was so happy to finally be able to hug her! To my surprise, she bought me some beautiful, fresh Azaleas flowers. 

I was so blessed she did this for me, but I told her the best gift was seeing her! I wasn’t able to see Heather and Eden too, but hope to see them and my grandkids very soon.

Ray also bought me some nice gifts: long-stemmed red roses, a Dove chocolate bar, Ghirardelli Chocolate Caramel squares, a pretty coffee mug, and a sweet card. 

Washington Irving said, “A mother’s love endures through all.” This is so true. It’s not always easy being a mom. It is both the greatest and hardest thing in the world.

When they’re sick, all you want is your child to be well. When they hurt, your heart hurts. If they’re stressed out and worried about a relationship, their job, their finances, or the Coronavirus, then you’re worried for them, too. And if they get mad at you over something and stop speaking to you for awhile, you feel as if you’re going to literally die. Yes, this has happened to me with each of our kids at times when they got upset with me over something!

As their mom, I can get on their last nerve sometimes, especially when I’m being a “helicopter mom,” hovering over them and being overprotective. One way I know that I’m irritating them is they will say, “Oh, mother!” (They only call me mother when they’re annoyed; otherwise, I am just “mom” to them!) I’m still very much in process with this, learning to let go and let God, entrusting them into His tender care. He loves them even more than I do!

I’m so glad and grateful that we are closer now and that God reconciled us from past hurts. My children are my very heartbeat and I don’t know what I’d do without them in my life. I praise God for them!

Each of our daughters is so beautiful, spiritually gifted, highly intelligent, talented, funny, wise, and their own person. God made them “wonderfully and fearfully.” (Psalm 139:14) Heather being the wise, kind person she is, the adventure gal, and a leader. Eden with her Sanguine, zany, funny personality and her amazing singing voice. Leah with her quiet, peaceful ways, her love for her cat Jax and all animals, and her incredible artistic and musical gifts. I admire and enjoy our daughters. They are unique people, and I love how different they are, made in the image of God. 

Today on Mother’s Day, my prayer for our daughters are these verses:

3 John 4:4, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”

Ephesians 3:20, The Message: “God can do anything, you know – far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.”

Thank you so much, Heather, Eden, and Leah, for the beautiful gift of motherhood. I love you with all my heart!

For all moms, whether biological, stepmom, adoptive, foster, or mentor to children, I wish you a very Happy Mother’s Day, one that is relaxing and fun. You deserve it! Your influence and your unconditional love are so important to your children. 

You can listen to my podcast, Nothing Like a Mom, by clicking here. 

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