Light, Love, Hope

My original Mother’s Day post was written late last night.  My parents made a special point to celebrate me yesterday, which was an extremely nice surprise.  Today, the surprises continue with Mother’s Day, Part II.

This sweet young daughter of mine had Starbucks waiting on me this morning, complete with a caramel ribbon crunch frappe and a cake pop.  She didn’t stop there.  She also had me a sweet card and a ceramic seahorse with shells and sea glass, which she knows is one of my absolute favorites!

What a nice way to start the day!  How sweet she thought of me and took her hard-earned money from her part-time job and spent it on me!  She certainly did not have to do this, and I was not expecting a single thing.  But oh my heart!

Now, I sit in anticipation as my sweet oldest daughter and her husband will be arriving soon.  It was her idea to cook supper for me so I could have the evening off.

I definitely raised them right!  Ha ha!

They are both incredibly thoughtful and put others before themselves.  Both of my sweet daughters make sure to celebrate me and never let an occasion go by without letting me know how much they love and care about me.

My heart is so full, and I am truly thankful to God for both of these beauties that made me a mother!

Happy Mother’s Day to all you beautiful women out there.  Whether you have given birth or have rallied around those who have … this day is for you, and you deserve to be treated like the queens that you truly are!

Mother’s Day is tough for a LOT of women, though.

There are women that tried so hard to have children but were unable to do so.  There are those that lost precious babies they prayed and begged God for.  We don’t know why bad things happen to good people.  It’s one of those things we will ask when we get to Heaven’s gates, I suppose.  For now, we ask God to heal our broken hearts and meet us right where we are in the midst of our grief.

Mother’s Day is tough on those who have lost their mothers, too.  I hope they took the time to acknowledge their mother’s when they were still here on this earth.

Today my parents took me out to celebrate Mother’s Day with me.  I am the mother of two beautiful young ladies who are now grown.  I am also a mother to an angel in Heaven that I have not seen but loved with my whole heart the moment I found out I was pregnant.  Having lost this little one at six weeks was extremely hard, and I know there are other ladies reading this that can relate to what I’m speaking of.  One sweet day we will see our precious little ones we never got to hold this side of Heaven.

I’m thankful for my two daughters.  They, along with my parents, try to make Mother’s Day special for me, which I greatly appreciate.

Once upon a time when my grandmother and mother-in-law were still on this earth, we had a special Mother’s Day meal at our house for them. It was my privilege to do this for every special occasion they would agree to come to my house to allow me to celebrate them.  My mom and dad are still here with us, thank GOD, and I pray they will be for many more years to come.  I love them with my whole heart and want so many more years with them.  I pray that God allows it.

One particular Mother’s Day, I recall getting my mother, my grandma, and my mother-in-law flowers.  I wanted to make sure there was a special flower for each of them.  It was important for me to let them know how much they meant to me.  Whether I was celebrated or not, it didn’t matter.  Oftentimes, the only ones that celebrated me were my parents and my daughters.  That was okay.  I’m not sure why my grandma or my mother-in-law didn’t think I needed to be celebrated for having their great-grandchildren or grandchildren.  Even still, I celebrated them.  Now that they are gone, I’m still glad I did this for them.

I’ve been married and divorced, and I recall my first husband saying he didn’t celebrate me because I wasn’t his mother.  Yet, I was the mother to his child.  But that was okay.  I didn’t need him to celebrate me either.

My second husband doesn’t need to celebrate me either because I’m not his mother.  It would be nice, though, if the suffering I did to bring these two men’s babies into this world was cause for them to stop for a moment and recognize me for the gifts I have given them and the world.

Yet, it is okay if they don’t celebrate me.  The ones who make me feel truly loved and cared for take time to show me … their words and actions truly line up.  I don’t just hear the words, “I LOVE YOU!”  I FEEL them!

This message is to all the moms that don’t feel celebrated by the ones that say they love you.  Take time to celebrate yourself.  YOU are WORTHY!

You don’t have to have gifts showered upon you, although that is nice when someone takes the time to give you a gift from their heart.

What I want you to do is take a good look at yourself in the mirror.  That woman looking back at you has been through so much in her lifetime.  There have been times she has been celebrated, and there have been times when her heart has been broken because she wasn’t acknowledged.  Today take time to love yourself.

YOU are important.

YOU are special.

YOU are worthy.

YOU are loved!

YOU are appreciated.

If no one else tells you, I will make sure to do so.

Happy Mother’s Day to every women – even the dog moms deserve to be celebrated for all they do for their fur babies.

Wrap yourself in love today and every day.  Celebrate yourself.  You deserve it!