For Mother's Day

So back in 1908 a woman decided to honor her mother (who had died the year before) by giving white carnations to all the mothers in her church one Sunday in May. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson (without a campaign contribution from Hallmark) made Mother's Day an official holiday. Don't ask me how I know this- I'm just filled with useless knowledge.

Anyway- I'm grateful to celebrate this day as the proud (mildly neurotic) mom of two lovely (mildly hoodlum-ish) boys that make life an adventure and a sweet surprise on a daily basis. They are one of the greatest joys and blessings that have been bestowed on me though undeserving am I. It's a such a combination of emotions to watch them bloom and celebrate the life God created in them. I wish to keep them young (to be honest if I'm getting eternal youth for them- I want it too) -to keep them from getting too big to sit on my lap and laugh and cry and cuddle them under my chin, to guard the innocence that comes with childhood and leaves when the age of understanding arrives, to keep their world small and safe and easy, to limit their struggles to those that can be solved with an ice pack, band-aid, or a time-out and talking-to. And yet I want to see them come of age, accept Christ as their Savior, and watch the Lord's plans for them come to fruition (even if that means I have gray hair and wrinkles- well, maybe not the wrinkles- I'm working on my vanity, people).

Motherhood is a daily challenge in which I feel like I fail more than I succeed. However, I am refined by Christ's grace, and that refining shows my children that my need for a Savior is equal to theirs. My failures and short-comings show them that perfection is impossible this side of glory, and my struggle to be like Jesus is not more difficult than their own. When I succeed they see that I can do all things through Him who gives me strength. And when we strive together they can understand what it means to bear one another's burdens and that a rope of three cords is not easily broken. I pray that they will see the joy of my salvation and that life is a precious gift not meant to spent moping, worrying, and being too serious. Yes, I pray that they will have wisdom and discernment to know when the gravity of a situation calls for severity. But equally I pray that they have life and have it abundantly- with fun and levity and joy and hope and love.

So this Mother's Day I celebrate these two beautiful babies that give me the reason to enjoy this day in the first place. Love you, Sam and Jack!