A Day Filled With Grace

Mother’s Day.

Really, I suppose it’s just another Hallmark holiday, but to many, it means so much more than that.

To me it’s more than that. It’s a reminder of where we have been and where God’s grace has taken us.

It is a reminder of what was.
It is a reminder of where one has been.
It is a reminder of the blessings of today.
It is a reminder that God will be faithful in the future.

Of course, last Mother’s Day was like no other – my first time celebrating being an earthly mother, while also celebrating Mazy’s baptism.

Today, means all the more. Another reminder of another year with our sweet girl. Another reminder that God is faithful. Another reminder that our first 2 are in their eternal home, Another reminder that God gave us the desires of our heart.

Yet Mother’s Day is a challenge to me.

It is a challenge to live up to the calling of being a mother. And that means more than just being a “mother” to the child in our home.

I desire to be the woman of God, God has called and set out for me to be. But I have failed. I have fallen short. I don’t have the patience I sometimes should. I don’t know everything I should. I know I am not the best wife I could be. But I DO know that God’s grace has carried me

every.
single.
day.

Thank you Lord, for giving me Mazy as a reminder of that grace.

As I excitedly walk into Mazy’s room in the morning to get her, her smile could not be wider. Her arms reach out for ME. She kicks her little legs in excitement, knowing it’s a new day. A new day filled with all kinds of adventures.

She doesn’t care that I may have failed in ways the day before. What she cares about is the love that my husband and I have to give. She desires that. She desires our arms, our love, our smiles.

THAT, I can give her. THAT is grace.

The very grace God gave us – reaching out His arms, giving us His love freely, while smiling down on His precious children.

His mercies surely are new every morning. He forgets about the past. He looks at the todays.

And so does Mazy.

Mother’s Day is that gentle reminder that it is a gift. A gift of where we have been and where we are today. A gift we can keep opening, everyday. It doesn’t matter whether a child is in your home or not. As women, I believe we have the gift of nurturing and of loving deeply. I am thankful for the years I had (and still do) of being a “mother” to many youth group kids, cooking them meals, giving them hugs, and putting my arm around them as tears fell. That has made me into the mother I am today.

Now I have the chance to do that with my own daughter. And even though being a mother to my own daughter is different than any other “mothering” I did before, the love is the same. The grace is the same. And I am thankful that God continues to give me a representation of what that deep love looks like. And I am thankful for all the mothers in my life who have invested in me and do to this day. And I hope you  know today, how special you are to me. And I am especially thankful to my very own mother who has set such a beautiful example of what a godly mother looks like. Thank you for continually setting that example for me, even today.

So on this day, no matter what chapter God has you in life, remember that perfection is something that will not happen this side of heaven, but that His grace abounds, His grace moves forward, His grace loves deeply, and His arms of grace are always there to pull you in.

Rest in that grace and love today.

Happy Mother’s Day.