Mother's Day.
This day used to be such a tough one for me. For years, I wanted so badly to be married and to be a mother. So, although I appreciated Mother's Day as an opportunity to celebrate my own mother and grandmothers, each year, as I looked around at all the moms with young children, I felt sad. Why not me? I cried, letting despair take over my day.
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| To think, I almost gave up dreaming that moments like this would ever unfold? |
I have known others who have had a tough time with Mother's Day, too -- children whose mothers have passed, moms who have lost children to miscarriages, children and moms who have been separated for one reason or another, moms whose children have died, boys and men whose mothers have passed... On a day that is meant for honor and celebration, all too often, I have seen sadness and despair creep in.
Today, then, I want to re-share and add to some thoughts that I posted in A Song for Jack, A Hope for Life a few years ago.
As I already mentioned, I often fell into despair throughout my twenties and early thirties about not being married or having children. I wondered, Why me? and questioned God's timing. Then, oddly, even after being incredibly blessed to meet and marry Mike and to be given the gifts of Luke and Nina, I persisted with tearful questions. When Mike and I discovered we were going to have a third children, I fretted Why now? Mike and I were not sure how we were ready for a third child to come along just yet and I did not know how I would possibly be able to handle life with the challenges we were facing at the time and another baby, too.
Luckily, the Spirit broke through to Mike and me and our questioning turned into welcoming, which, in turn, unfolded into years of blessing after blessing (to go along, of course, with challenge after challenge, which, despite my fretting, have all been more than manageable!)
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| This little face has continued to grow and to, daily, give testimony to the blessings that unfold from trust and faith! |
As I wrote several years ago:
"Faith encouraged trust and trust brought blessings. God proved to us what He so often does: His timing is perfect even when it does not coincide exactly with ours...
From the timing of Jack’s conception, to that of his birth, to so many things since, surprises keep on unfolding. More often than not, these surprises are joy-filled ones. Always, they reinforce that God’s timing is magnificent, even when it is not in line with our own...(Now) I sing with praise, gratitude and hope. The hope being that my children will always embrace life as the gift that it is. The hope that all people will."
Now, I know some have challenges that are far greater than Mike or I have ever faced, ones that make this day so hard due to the ramifications of illness, death, separation under sad circumstances, etc. However, I believe the message to us from our Lord and our Mother in Heaven is still the same:
In all things, trust. Focus on what you can be grateful for. Hang on. Embrace life here and never give up hope for the life that awaits in the hereafter. Instead of questioning God's timing (and the effects of people's choices) with an air of despair, wrap yourself in the comforts of grace. Say yes and be blessed.
No matter if your Mother's Day feels happy or not today, just say "yes" to the life you are experiencing right now and know there are blessings have and will unfold because of your yes. Just like Our Mother in Heaven said "yes" to God and, thus, blessings unfolded exponentially, with each faith-filled "yes" we offer, His love magnifies.
So, today, if you're sad and all you can do is to manage a half-spoken, "Yes, I will let myself rest in You," please do that. And know my prayer for you is that as you do your mourning may eventually turn into gladness. And if you are happy, by all means, please shout out praises of "Yes! Thank you, Lord!" Make a joyful noise!
Whether your Mother's Day feels happy or not, please trust and say "yes".
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| So blessed by His timing! |
How can you say "yes" and be blessed this Mother's Day?
