Mother's Day Tribute

Here's a Mother's Day tribute to four mothers; each of whom have made a great impact on my life, though I've never met two of them.

I am blessed with an amazing mother. Anyone who knows her will tell you that she's one of the most self-sacrificing, helpful people you'll ever meet. Growing up, my sisters and I were taught by her example and SHOWN how to live instead of just being told. My mother has strong opinions on issues and she'll voice those opinions; but when it comes to living a Godly life, she models it with grace and humility. Thanks, Mom, for your servant's heart and for being the most loving mother a child could have! Happy Mother's Day!! I love you!

The other mother shaped the life of the most important person in my life, my husband. My mother-in-law has an incredibly generous, caring heart. She loves her children and grandchildren so much. She's always knitting something for someone. Recently she's taken up knitting blankets, mittens, hats, etc., for the children in orphanages in China and buys clothing for them. No doubt hundreds of children in China are kept warm because of her love. I'm so grateful for that love that she shows to my children and she's shown throughout my husband's life. Happy Mother's Day, Nancy! We love you!

The other two mothers have given me the best gift a mother can have...the love of a child. These are my daughter's birthmothers and I can't help but think of them on this Mother's Day. I am so thankful to them for giving my daughters life. I pray for these birthparents and ask that God would give them peace and assurance that their daughters are loved deeply and unconditionally.

Here's a wonderful poem....

Mother's Day

One day a year,
The inevitable card, a dinner.
Mediocre chocolates in a box
elaborate enough to satisfy
a three-year-old's discerning taste.

Every day is mother's day
The hands stretched up for a hug,
pizza smeared kisses,
the soft warm weight
tucked in to my arms
trustingly surrendered
to sleep.
Even the tired tantrums.

I am a mother
every second of the day.
My daughter is stitched
into every fiber of my life.
I love her with an intensity
that took me by surprise.
Surpassed only by the fear
of losing her.

But she has another mother,
The woman in the mirror,
The shadow, who comes
and goes through invisible doors.

You first felt her stir, roll
and kick inside you.
The contraction that announced
her impending arrival,
heard the first cry, touched
the downy fuzz on her head,

And left her.

And I grapple with this,
As she will sooner than I wish.

Without you, I would not be a mother.
Your loss and hers is my gain.
I honor you by loving her
shiny black hair, rosebud mouth,
She is made of you,
how could I not?

How could I understand
That a few days after her birth,
in the deep of winter,
she was left outside.
When she cries in fear or anger,
"I'm cold,"
I am seized with a rage
as icy and unforgiving
as that January night.
When she tells me the life story
of our formerly feral cat
is the same as hers,
I want to weep,
that I can't change it
or make it go away.

Can I say I would never do the same?
No
Judge not…..

Perhaps it was the desperation
of a mother
who throws her children
from a burning building.
Hoping and praying
that someone will catch them.
That they will be safe.
Perhaps, perhaps,
I will never know.

Do you miss her,
wonder at what might have been,
where is she now?

Our daughter is dancing, far away,
dressed in a Cinderella blue gown.
Serving tea to a stuffed turtle,
singing songs of her own invention.
You will never hear her voice.
She will never see your face.

She is neither you or me.
She is the third way,
already crafting her own story.
You gave her life,
I give her a future.

Happy Mother's Day.

by Jennifer Wilson-Pines

And a quote I love from our adoption agency's card...
"Becoming a mother makes you a mother of all children. From now on each wounded, abandoned, frightened child is yours. You live in the suffering mother of every race and creed and weep with them." - Charlotte Gray

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers reading this!