Mother's Day

I don’t think I have ever left a store crying before. I love shopping! Saturday I stopped by a local gift shop to pick out a gift for my mother-in-law. When I walked in, one lady said to the other, “This is the mother of the family that was in here so long the other day.” I knew Danny had taken the kids Mother’s Day shopping and I wondered if Jett had come in there and done something ‘memorable.’ But as they began to tell me their impressions of my family, I felt like the luckiest woman alive.

Without a doubt Mother’s Day is my favorite day of the year. I enjoy the big deal the kids make, the gifts my family gives me and that we go out for lunch somewhere nice. I love that I always spend Mother’s Day with my precious mom who inspired me to pour myself into my family.

This year was no exception. They lavished me with beautiful gifts and hugs and homemade art. We dined on fancy salads and cheesecake while sitting outside by a fountain. But nothing could have made the occasion more meaningful than what I heard those women saying about my husband and children. “Tell us the story on your family.” “Everyone of your children is so precious.” “Your husband was so attentive to each one of them as they shopped for you.” “That man, oh my goodness!” On and on it went as my eyes brimmed with tears of gratitude.

They continued…“Seeing them just made our day.” “We talked about them all day long.” But the one that really got me was….“We know so many rich people, families with plenty of money, but when your family walked out of here I said, ‘That is the kind of family I want to have’.”

Those women don’t know anything about us. They have no idea how we have struggled financially this past year and that picking out gifts in a gift shop was such a treat. But their words were more treasured than gifts that came out of that shop wrapped in beautiful ribbons.

I love Mother’s Day. I feel like the busyness of the world stops for one day (at least my world does) and I get to revel in the fact that I am living a dream. I am surrounded by love. Genuine love. I get to be a wife and mother. Now I did not always think that was a goal worthy of aspiring to. I’ve tried my hand at a lot of things. But nothing has brought me the absolute joy that loving my family brings. The older I get, the more I learn about aspirations.

When I was a kid, my mom tirelessly and patiently raised us to love Jesus and love others. Quietly her example poured into me day after day. As I grew older, the voice of the world grew louder than hers. “Do this. Do that. You have to make a name for yourself. “ All along my mom’s name was just “Mom.” And that is what I came back to!