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A Special Tribute

Eliz and AriaMothers

As I enjoyed a wonderful time with my daughter this Mothers Day, who is a fantastic mother, I wanted to pay a special tribute to Moms.

Mothers Day is more than just a celebration once a year where we give flowers, send a card and try to say thanks.

It is an opportunity to think about what it means to be a Mom.

What does it mean to be a Mom?  

Moms have a special relationship with their children that no one else can have as it began before they were born.  As our babies grew in our wombs, we spoke to them and even sang songs to them.  Love grew along with the baby.

As children, we often took our Moms for granted.  We knew they were there for us.   Somehow they managed to feed and clothe us and get us to school on time.  They put up with our whining, temper tantrums and sick days. For single moms, their work load was doubled as they met the needs of their kids before and after going to work and all the in-between times when phone calls from school told them their child was sick and had to be picked up.

 

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It is only later in life that we realize all the hard work, sacrifices and love that went into raising us.

 

As I thought about my own mother, I wondered how she was able to work side by side with my dad on a large farm, helped with all the endless chores, make ends meet and still raise ten children. She grew a garden larger than most people’s backyard and food was canned or preserved in some way. Somehow, she was able to tend a beautiful flower garden and her kitchen window blossomed with rows of African violets set on glass shelves that Dad made for her.

 

There wasn’t a lot of time to spend individually with each of us kids. But what she did give us was a strong belief in family and in God, a faith to cling to when life was hard and principles to live by.  These were incredible gifts to me. She lived her faith.  My parents were married 75+ years.

Moms are ordinary people

 

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Moms are ordinary people who struggle each day, sometimes just to survive.  Somehow they manage when life strips them of the comforts of life we come to expect as necessary.

To be a Mom, you don’t need a degree or special training.  You only need a willingness to love, cherish and spend time. While there are lots of good parenting books available to us, there is no manual for the heart of Moms on how to love.

Being a Mom is both wonderful and yet, can be the most challenging job on earth.  Each child has their own special needs.

Struggles and Challenges

Sometimes children grow up with a Mom who is struggling with her own past of neglect and abuse.  Drugs and alcohol may be their elixir against the pain of their past.  If you have had such an experience, Mother’s Day can be especially painful for you.  And yet, these Moms, perhaps more than others, need our love to help them heal and connect.   Sometimes it is the adult children who can extend that love when it was not extended to them.

A Celebration of Love

Mothers Day is about love.  It can be a time of celebration and joy.  It can be a time of reflection, reconciliation and forgiveness. It might be a time when we reach out to those who have not experienced the joys and sorrows of raising children and include them into your family.

How do we celebrate love?

There are no perfect Moms or Dads.  There are no perfect families or perfect children.  But love covers our inabilities, our trials and unrealistic expectations.

It might be a time to thank God and rejoice in His design for us as women.  For we are the ones that are blessed to give birth and hold that special son or daughter in our arms.  That is a love that has no words.

Marlene Anderson

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