International Bereaved Mother’s Day is observed the Sunday before Mother’s Day in the United States. This year it’s tomorrow, May 1, 2022
I didn’t even know such a day existed until I was a mom that needed it.
Read the rest here: https://thelifeididntchoose.com/2017/05/06/international-bereaved-mothers-day/
I’ve mothered things all my life.
Kittens, puppies, hamsters, other people.
And then I had my very own children.
What a privilege to pour my life into them! What joy to see them grow and mature and become people I not only love but admire and respect!
I learned so very much while raising my children. The Lord used them to shape and mold my heart to be more like His. They were instruments of grace and discipline. Over and over and over I had to lay down my preferences and priorities to make way for theirs.
Now I have a grandson.
Another generation to snuggle and teach, comfort and care for.
I’m already learning even more in this season.
This little guy’s early and rocky start in life reignited passion for prayer in mine. Watching him grow and thrive sparks hope and joy like I haven’t felt in the years since Dominic left us for Heaven.
His smile lights up my heart and the room.
Just the other day his daddy shared this picture with me:
James Michael was being silly with him, oohing and aahing and making him giggle.
As I stared at the photo I realized this child was experiencing such joy, such complete contentment, fulfillment and utter sense of safety it was uncontainable.
So it spread all over his face.
Then I had an epiphany-that’s exactly what Dominic feels right now.
This very minute the child I am missing is missing nothing. Precisely when I am wondering if God cares, if He hears, if He’s even near, Dominic is filled to overflowing with undeniable and uncontainable joy because what I hope for he SEES.
And one day that will be me.
All the heartache of this life will fade away to a tiny, tiny dot in the distance. What has been stolen will be restored. What has been bartered away will be redeemed. Wounds will be fully healed and my heart will be whole.
I’ll be full of joy and safe in my Father’s arms. ❤
I wanted to do a version 2.0 of this post but felt like I couldn’t really add much to what I’ve already written.
So here it is again-a letter to the children still walking planet Earth with me.
You are every bit as important and loved as your brother that is waiting for us in Heaven.
I love you.
You are my breath, my life, my heart walking outside my body. ❤
I never thought it possible to love you more than I already did.
But I do.
Your brother’s untimely departure has opened my heart in a whole new way to the glory that is your presence. It has made me drink you in like water in the desert.
Read the rest here: A Letter To My Living Children*
I have a heart for ALL mamas-the ones who are just starting out all the way up to the ones who launched their fledglings and have an empty nest.
I especially have a heart for mamas who have had to say “good-bye” to one or more of their precious children-sending them on ahead to heaven.
I’ve never met one that didn’t wonder if she did enough, said enough, loved enough-WAS enough.
I have a love/hate relationship with social media.
On the one hand, it allows instant communication and easy sharing of special events among friends and family in ways we could only dream about when my kids were tiny. On the other hand, the perfect pictures and carefully curated lives posted for the world to see place great pressure on those of us who look around at our messy houses and messy lives.
Add to that the articles and memes passed around and you have a perfect combination to crush a mama’s spirit.
Are my children being kept safe? Are they being kept too safe? Are they in the right school, the right sport, the right music program? Should I feed them this or that? Am I doing enough?
Am I enough?
Am I a bad mama?
Can I just tell you something struggling mama? Can I give you a lifeboat in the ocean of doubt?
God chose you before the foundation of the world to be your child’s mama. He knows everything about you-past. present and future-and He chose YOU to help shape this little life into the person He created your child to be.
Yes, you make mistakes.
Yes, you are flawed.
Yes, you will do some things well and some things not so well.
But that is no surprise to God.
Look closely at the families in the Old Testament-you don’t have to get past Genesis to find dysfunction all over the place. But God isn’t limited by our limitations. His plan isn’t thwarted by our inability to follow directions. His purposes do not depend on perfect parenting.
Hallelujah! AMEN!
So buckle up and hold on-do the best you can to guide your family down the road God lays before you. You will make some bad decisions and need to do a few U-turns.
That’s OK. Lean into the One Who made you and made your children.
God has it under control.
thelifeididntchoose 