If All the Moms….. (and a giveaway)

Nineteen years ago, I had high hopes that I’d be a mom by Mother’s Day.

The year before, my heart was heavy on Mother’s Day as Todd and I had lost our first child when I was just entering my second trimester.

Then our second child was due on April 30th that next year and was I ever excited! I hoped I could bring my new bundle of baby joy to church on Mother’s Day and sport myself a pastel corsage like all of the other ‘real’ mothers.

However, that special Sunday came on May 12th.

It came.

And it went.

Still no baby.

While our first child had come too soon to live on earth (and we’ll have to wait until heaven to meet him or her) this baby decided that even though everyone told us she’d be here in late April—the doctors, the charts, the ultra-sound, my own little “count back three months and add one week” way of figuring out when the baby would come–she decided to take her sweet time.

She arrived May 14th!! Two weeks late!!!

And this will be my first Mother’s Day without her. :-(

In honor of Mother’s Day, I thought I’d reprint here an essay that baby-turned-little-girl-turned-almost-19-year-old-woman wrote when she was seven for our local paper. The subject was : Why I Love My Mom. Out of over 300 entries, hers was chosen as the grand prize winner. As a result, she and I won all kinds of mother and daughter items from local businesses including my first (and only) manicure and pedicure. It was such fun!

Here is her winning essay and a pic of her today.

Why I Love My Mom

If all the moms were lined up in a row from here to the town of Westphalia and they all had on pretty party dresses with their hair in a bun and tap shoes on and my mom had on old sweats with baby burp-up on it……I’d still pick her.

My mom is a fun mom. She lets me bake cookies with her. She makes me chickin and dumplin’s. She lets me play with her lipstick and real scissors and craft stuff. She reads to me every night and teaches me about Jesus.

And even though she gets very sick when she is pregnant she still gave me two baby brothers to play with.

That’s why I love my mom.

Mackenzie, age 7

Okay, now…..why do you love your mom?

One winner will be chosen to receive a personalized copy of my book Homespun Memories for the Heart: More Than 200 Ideas to Make Unforgettable Moments It provides simple, doable ideas for celebrating with the children in your life be they your kids, grand-kids, nieces and nephews or school children. It covers holidays, holy days, and even daily days, like the first day of school, when they lose their first tooth of get their driver’s license. There are also many party ideas for showers, birthdays, reunions and retirement. It is chock full of recipes, gift ideas and even re-producable invitations and such. You can check it out here.

Mother’s Day Blessings,

24 Comments

  1. Why do I love my mom? She has given so much of herself for me….for my whole family. I remember one conversation we had right after my first daughter was born. I was talking about how much I love my little ladybug, I told her that I just can’t imagine the days I know will come, when someone will hurt my little girl’s feelings. I looked at my mom and asked, how did you not cry when I would come home from school crying because so-and-so didn’t like me or the boys called me fat? Mom looked at me and asked how do you know I didn’t cry? I realized then and saw clearly how much she did love me, she feels about me the way I feel about my dearest daughters. I am a lucky lucky girl and my girls are lucky to have her as their nana!

  2. I love my Mom because she’s set a wonderful example of how to be faithful her entire life and she’ll be 70 in a few days! She and my Dad made church a priority even when I whined about going as a teenager. She encouraged me all through college and my young married life to find a church home and GO! Now that I’ve found an awesome church home, I feel the responsibility to take my four young kids no matter how much else is going on. If she hadn’t set the example, I probably would only go when other worldly stuff didn’t interfere. Thank you Mom for setting the example for me.

  3. My mom is a wonderful woman who did the best she could with the resources she had. Even though her life has not been easy, she has always been there for me and my brothers.

    Today is her day. Two thousand miles separate us but I know she loves me and she knows I love her. I thank the Lord for the gift of MY MOM.

  4. Funny to think about what I love best about my mom. We are completely different individuals and her long, drawn out horrible divorce with my dad left me with a few scars and some baggage, baggage that Jesus has been trying to tell me to leave in baggage claim and move on with my life. I purposely parented different than my mom, choosing to play with my kids and not clean the house all the time, take my kids to their events and be team mom or school volunteer. My mom never did these things and I never understood why, perhaps it was the pain and heartache she was going through with her marriage. But, the one thing my mom gave me that has made all the difference is the wings to fly. When I got on a bus 5 days after graduating college and moved to another part of the country, she never uttered a word. When I took off with my backpack and girlfriends for Europe or Australia, again, no guilt, condemnation, no lectures. When I got engaged to a man she had never met because we were separated by 3,000 miles she talked to him on the phone and said he sounded wonderful and to this day is his #1 fan. As a mom myself, I don’t think I have this in me. I am too controlling and too judgemental at times but I will remember that my mom gave me the wings to be me, someone different than her yet she never criticized me for my different choices. She always loved me and that is a lesson I need to learn and show to my own children. It is the difference between pushing your kids away or drawing them in. I guess if I had my choice between a mom who played when I was young or a mom who gave me wings to fly when I was older, I would take the latter, it really has made all the difference in my life and I thank God for that, and her.

  5. My mom is amazing. She is always there for me, my sister and our kids. She has been through some major heartache in her life. But with God’s unconditional love has forgiven and pulled right though.

  6. Unfortunately I can’t see my mom every day anymore since she is deceased but I can still remember her arms around me giving me a big hug whenever I walked in the door. Doing my laundry when I came home from college, or taking care of me when my son was born and I became a mom. That special unconditional love she gave me is what I miss most. Hopefully I’ll get to see her again as she greets me at heaven’s door and gives me a big hug and kiss.

  7. If someone would have told me two years ago that I would be blogging about my mom, I would have told them they were crazy. You see, for 40 years, I believed that my mom didn’t want or love me. Up until two years ago, there was very little interaction between us. Than my grandfather became ill and I had to cross the bridge of brokeness (by God’s strength alone)…I met my mom at a vulnerable time in her life and thankfully she accepted. We were slowly rebuilding a relationship when I was diagnosed with an aggressive breast cancer. It was through this journey I saw the love of a mother that continues to amaze me. My mom drove an hour to take me to my 16 rounds of chemo, never leaving my side, spent hours with me at my appointments, overnight hospital stays and in our home. There were times during the journey that I wanted to quit, but I knew my mom was waiting and I didn’t want to disappoint her. I have listed many ways my mom has shown me love, so now, the reason I love my mom: her life demonstrates Christs love to all (Even though my mom wouldn’t consider herself a “christian”.)

  8. My mom and I have a pretty good relationship; but I’d like it to be better, stronger. God is working with me to build that relationship. She’s an extremely giving, loving person-of course,that describes a lot of moms! Her mom passed away 2 yrs ago and that makes me look through eyes of compassion toward her and all of those who have lost a mother. I’m so incredibly blessed.

    ~Amy

  9. It touched me that your daughter was born on May 14. That is my mother’s birthday and when she was born in 1939, it was Mother’s Day!

    This is my fourth Mother’s Day without her. She passed away in June 2006.

    I also emphathize with your loss and being at church on Mother’s Day (and baby dedications) when you have had a loss. I was in the hospital on Mother’s Day 1997 after surgery for an eptopic pregnancy.

    I now have two wonderful sons ages 11 and 9. God is is so awesome! His still awesome to the ladies who are still waiting and I pray for them.

  10. I love my mom because she is a good listens. When I’m with her, it’s not about her needs or wants, it’s all about me. I can be open and honest. She always gives of herself, teaching and modeling what it means to be a servant.

  11. It says in Genesis 18:12 that Sarah laughed. Boy, is that ever true! My mom, also a Sarah, has a gift of laughter. Her life has not been easy, far from it, but her laughter has never waned. She finds the humor in every situation and makes me find it too.

    Matter of fact, when my kids imitate their grandma they get on the floor, kick their legs in the air, and cackle like a hen. Grandma, a name they automatically associate with laughter. What fun!

  12. My mom has always been my biggest cheerleader and encourager. Even when I wasn’t easy to love or cheer for, she was there. The best part in our relationship is that we are now growing together as sisters in Christ. To have that bond with her is beyond anything I could have imagined! I love my Momma — as I began telling her when I was young “Gobs and Galoshes!”
    Happy Mother’s Day!

  13. Oh, I forgot to post why I love my mom. I love my mom because she is so giving of herself and expecting nothing in return. It doesn’t matter if you’re her kid or not. Everyone is treated the same.

    ABreading4fun [at] gmail [dot] com

  14. I love my mom because she’s always willing to listen to my troubles and gives good advice. She also never quit praying for me when I drifted away from God and rejoiced when I came back to Him. She loves my stepchildren as if they were her natural grandchildren and has made them part of our family.

  15. My mom is very young at heart still. Coarse, she’s really not all that old! She’s a good friend and has been supportive through my bad life choices when I know that I’ve made her suffer as well. She’s fun to hang out with and she’s always got a shoulder when you need one. She looks forward to spending time with me still, even though I’m 46!! She would give me the shirt off her back if I needed it. She brought me up to love the Lord and to lean on Him.

  16. I love my mom because she is the most amazing, understanding, comforting, reliable, honest, hard working, loving woman there is. She made our house a home and loved me and my sister unconditionally (and my dad for the last 31 years!) no matter what trouble we got into, what grades we brought home, we always knew mom would be there for us & she is still here for us!
    Even though during the teenage years we were not the best of friends, I now realize why she did the things she did and said the things she said.
    I am honored to have her as my “mom”.. She is truly a blessing to me! Happy Mother’s Day to all “moms”…

  17. I love my mom because she loves unconditionally, keeps me honest, challenges me personally/spiritually, comes along side me to make my burdens light, points me back to Jesus, loves my dad actively (for 37 years), makes family a priority, enjoys each day, takes me out for lunch weekly, listens to me, cares & invests in others, makes a house a home, is the best cook ever, & one of my best friends!

  18. I love my mom because she has shown me what it means to have Christ in your life, especially in trials. Let me explain: My father was a minister and I grew up in church, my dad was very loving and I never felt the closeness to my mom. When I was 13 I accepted the Lord but we had to move to another charge and I left my christian friends. During my senior year I became pregnant and kept my son (now 33). We moved again and I married my husband (adopted my son). Still never felt close to my mom but in 2004 my dad was diagnosed with kidney cancer and after losing my job, I would help mom take care of dad. I really started seeing things different and when my dad passed away, my mom showed me what living for Christ was all about and even in mom’s grieving she glorified Christ. I became a christian about a month after dad passed away. Then in 2009 my youngest brother committed suicide and again it was a rough year for us all, especially my mom, but once again in her grief and confusion as to why, mom showed me how to glorify Christ in this very difficult time. She showed me how to have Christ’s joy even in sorrow. I have to say today I have a closeness and a relationship with my mother and I now understand in all those years what she was trying to tell me about Christ, the Christ that I ran away from for 34 years. I praise God for my mother.

  19. My mom is the most precious, gracious, generous, kind, loving, funny, sweet, godly woman I have ever had the pleasure of knowing! She always brings a smile and laughter to those around her regardless of the circumstances! She’s not actually as funny as she thinks she is :-), but she gets so tickled with herself that it makes it even funnier than it ever could have been otherwise. My mom, Suzie, is a pastor’s wife and it takes a very special woman to fulfill that role. Her strength is remarkable and her kindness unfailing. She has such a sweet spirit and the most gentle touch. Growing up I remember getting up early on school days and you could always find her reading her Bible and praying! She is a prayer warrior!!! She will be in the kitchen cooking or ironing or whatever and you can always hear her whispering under her breath, Jesus, Jesus. It sounds even sweeter when she says it. She also says it alot when my dad drives…LOL!

    I have not always appreciated her strength of character and her willingness to turn the other cheek, but as I have gotten older it is my desire to be as much like her as I possibly can! She is the perfect example of what a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend and Christian should aspire to be.

    I love Carolyn Sue Causey more than I could ever express or that she could ever know!!!

    Danette

  20. I love my Mom because of her love for Jesus. She exhibits the fruit of the Spirit in her daily walk, and she is a great example of a godly woman to me. She lets me talk and talk, knowing that’s how I “process”. She has taught me many things including prayer, visiting elderly loved ones whether in their home, hospital or nursing home, and how to be a submissive loving wife. I love my Mom!! :-) Happy Mother’s Day, Karen. That essay was SO sweet!

  21. I love my mom because she loves me!! I have learned about the power of a praying mom from her! She has taught me about faith, grace, and forgiveness!! Now, as a mom, I am able to practice ALL that I learned from my Mother in gratitude!! Thank God for the softness of Mothers!!!

  22. My mom and I didn’t have the best relationship while I was growing up in fact it was probably not even a relationship. When I was in my 20’s I got really involved in a bible study at the church I was attending about the importance of the mother/daughter relationship and it BROKE my heart. I emailed my mom that evening and just told her everything!! About 5 years later I was celebrating my first wedding ann. and expecting my daughter!! Ever since that evening on the computer my mom and I have strengthen our relationship through the Grace of God and now we have a strong mother/daughter friendhip one that I can proudly show to my daughter. My daughter will be 5 in the next couple of months and everyday she reminds me how much like me she really is. Even though my mom and I didn’t have the best relationship when I was a child we have the relationship we have now because of GRACE!!!

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