Mother's Day

To be a mom on Mother's Day is a beautiful gift I do not take for granted. There were many days when I feared and then believed it was something I would never have the chance to experience. Yet here I am, in a surreal world where he is mine. And while I have spent my day feeling incredibly blessed to be a mother, my heart has yet been heavy.

Heavy for the people who do not have mothers in their physical lives to celebrate.

Heavy for the women who yearn to be mothers. 

Heavy for the women who have lost children, babies, and unborn babies. 

Heavy, because motherhood, and the desire to mother, is complicated. 

A few weeks ago, I was with a dear friend who, like me, has encountered significant challenges with pregnancy. She said to me, "being a mother is about the state of your heart; your desires. If you long to care for and nurture God's children, you are a mother." You may mother through birth, adoption, foster care, or marriage. You may mother by route of your job, or through a volunteer position. But when your desire is to set yourself aside and nurture another; you are mothering. 

This idea doesn't take the hurt away for those women who have yet to have their heart's desire fulfilled with children of their own. But it did bring me comfort, and today, my prayer is that it might bring you comfort, too.

Whatever way it is that you mother, and whatever stage of the mothering journey you're in, I hope today that you feel LOVED. I may not know you momma, but I know at least a fraction of your heart, some of your desires, and a portion of your hurt. I haven't forgotten you, and I love you.

Thank you sweet Lauren for your wise words on mothering, and for capturing these precious moments with my boy. Photo Credit: Lauren Stewart Photography; @Lauren.Stewart_dc