They Call Me Mommy

For so many years Mother’s Day was always a day I somewhat dreaded. It always just seemed to serve as a reminder of what I didn’t have, what I was lacking and the longing to fill the emptiness. When the mothers were asked to stand at church for a blessing I clenched my teeth and fought back the tears from streaming.

This year we will celebrate Mother’s Day as a family of four. Instead of tears of sorrow there will be tears of joy. In gratitude for the two amazing boys who have given me the name mommy! Who have filled my heart with a new love and joy beyond anything I could have imagined. Who have called me to a deeper love and service, even at all hours of the night.

The honor, privilege and blessing continues to humble me. The road was not easy and the cross not light, but I would not trade any of it for the moments I share with them every single day. They are truly a gift!!

Yet I cannot let this Mother’s Day pass by without thinking of and honoring the women who gave my sons life. The women who first loved them and were the first to look in their beautiful brown eyes.

As much as I am beyond grateful to hear two little voices call me mommy, a part of me feels for those who were their first. Not more than a day passes where I don’t pray for them and wonder how they are doing. I grieve for the loss caused by brokenness and sin in our world that has not allowed families to live as God has intended.

Yet because of loss our roads have crossed and I can do nothing more than thank God for allowing me to be their mommy. To hold them tightly and shower them with a love so deep and so wide.

To the women who first held us, the women who help guide us and the women who inspire us along the way. To the women who long to be a mother, the women who have lost a child, the women who heroically choose life and entrust that life to someone else. May you all have a most blessed and joyous Mother’s Day!