There was a day that this cross stitch (and another similar one — both possessions of my grandma who passed away in 2000) just caused pain. As much as I ached for all my years as a single adult to be a mom, in truth, I wasn’t naturally suited to motherhood in many ways. And the early years — actually, easily more than a decade — were fraught with paralyzing guilt and fear. At times, I truly believed that my kids “deserved better” (after all, I loved and cared about them so much and knew myself and my weakness so well — how could I as such a weak mortal be what these precious children deserved?)
I remember one day where I was neck-deep in the chaos and exhaustion of young motherhood when I called a treasured friend of mine, a mother of nine. I expressed my fears and guilt and concerns to her.
She said something like this:
Your children are alive, and you know how to dial 911 [emergency number]. You are doing awesome!
I still laugh at her words, but of course she wasn’t just trying to be funny. She was telling me that all I was agonizing over simply wasn’t worth agonizing over. I was never supposed to be all that (whatever that was in my head).
As my relationship with God has deepened over the years, I’ve come to realize that God’s love, however IS all that and more. The Savior really fills in the gaps where I fall short, and then some (times eternity). And now that I’ve been doing this mothering thing for nearly 18 1/2 years, I see how God has sent so many other nurturing souls, both male and female, into my children’s lives.
I am grateful to say that now I can enjoy Mother’s Day in the safe arms of my Savior’s love and His compensatory power that makes my motherhood enough. God’s plan was for His precious children to be sent to imperfect parents.
We are told to be like a little child. I hope this beautiful Mother’s Day song, intended to reflect the pure, simple beliefs of a child, can bring peace and love from God to your heart on this Mother’s Day. And I’d like to invite you to think about how you enjoy expressing love to your children? If you do not currently have children of your own, I hope you will consider and know how your influence makes such a difference. (Such a difference!)
I hope you will have eyes to see what you are doing, especially today, and trust that God is always working in the background of our lives and the lives of our children. We were never meant to be enough without Him.
p.s. Many thanks to Shawna Edwards for her mother heart and the love she extends to so many through her music.
