The Mother Gift. ( by Jennifer Owens) Written: May 14, 2009
I found this wonderfully written letter to friends in my old emails and decided to share…
“I wasn’t going to write about Mother’s Day. It’s a sensitive spot for me…and has been for years. Yet being a Mother is a Gift. I recall how I felt when I did not have the company of children in my life. Yet without the presence of children, I am not sure I would be the same. Without their smiles, their curiosity, their joys and their comforting hugs and funny things they say…I am not sure I would have the softer side of who I am today. Though I have not borne children through my own womb, I am a mother. And long before I was a stepmother, I was a mother.
Some of us haven’t even had the chance of being a mom yet.I recall the anxiety I felt when I found out my husband to be had three children, and they were coming to see us, in Texas. I thought.. “Oh my! What am I gonna do!.. How will I mother…? I have never done this before?” And as I prayed,…. God came and wrapped what seemed like a warm welcome blanket over me, as I confided in my husband, with my fears. I remember I sighed as I felt this really special peace fall on me.
Mom and me at my book signing
That’s the first time I realized God gives mothers a ‘special anointing’ to be a mom.
I didn’t know this before. I sincerely thought everyone was just ‘out there on their own’, trying to figure it out – and because some were nurtured more than others, then they turned out to be better moms. When you see that it comes straight from the One above, it enlightens your perspective. Then, your realize that it really isn’t up to you to you, as a “mother”…
It’s God’s plan you have to submit to, in order to be the best mom you can be. But it’s in Him. By His grace and His mercy towards you, daily.
Now not everyone has had a positive mothering experience. Some have had mother’s walk off and leave them, and other have had mother’s there- yet absent from the role. I am not sure why this happens. But I can say that I am sure some place in your life, you can identify someone who reached out to you in the form of ‘mothering’, and subsequently, ….gave you life. Who added to your identity, who helped you realize something innately ‘good’ about yourself.
Whether you have a mom today, and she’s passed on, .. or if you didn’t have a mother at all…or even if you never had the chance to be one ..yet… thank God for the mothering spirit that exists on this earth. And for the love He spreads abroad, the anointing that rests in Him, …to bless you. Thank Him, for the fact that He gives generously to those He decides who will be ‘parents’ whether spiritual or natural, on this earth.
I was at a diversity round table a few weeks ago, and a young lady was there just talking about how she hadn’t had a mother figure growing up, and as a result she believes it made her ‘less motherly’ and not so gentle, less open and unwilling to share… ( at least those were her personal thoughts)… and yet she shared how several years ago, she had crossed paths with a woman who didn’t know her at all – yet took her under her wings, saw her pain, reached out to her – counseled her, consoled her and helped heal her pain. She shared how she really enjoyed her company – yet she could not receive the love she was given. Because of how she’d been hurt so very badly and didn’t trust; she’d become very bitter and hardened. Today…what she remembers and is imprinted on the tablets of her heart, is….the love of this woman.
She speaks of the love with a smile, a great fondness, and extreme gratefulness… and even how she managed to offer her the greatest and BIGGEST bear hugs!
Was she her mother?
Hmmm.. maybe not by birth… yet definitely by Spirit.
How about that! How transforming the love of a ‘mother’ can be!
When I see the influence of God’s love through the “other mothers” in my life -and especially from my mom today – there is simply a loving, warm nurturing side to see, in me… the warmth of an embrace that now shines in me, a kindness, a fresh laugh, a blush, a gentle touch,… and as a result, the hardness has been tenderly washed away in me, with LOVE. Mothers give, mother’s receive… and it just keeps going on and on… in order to love like a mother should… these requirements are very present. And so if a woman has made you feel this way, she may have been a surrogate mother.
At this time in your life, I wonder… is there someone who wants to love you like a mother, and you’ve not returned that love for fear of love loss, in the past?
Or… are you holding a grudge/resentments against your mother because some where along the past you just find hard to let that go of all the pain and frustration?
Or do you find you just are ‘worn out’ from mothering yourself, and need God to help you return to loving your children as He would?
God cares about all this… your mothering ability, and your need to be loved. Mothered.
Thankfully, he’s neither male nor female… and he can relate to your need for mothering.
Ask Him to come near today, and bless you, with this gift.
Take a look back today, and just reflect… and thank God today for all the mothers in your life that have comforted you in your discomfort, held your hand when you were scared, fed you when you were hungry, sat and calmed you through your desperate moments, and forgiven you when you were mistaken… and give THANKS on this day, and always. And lastly, pray for all the mothers that have been hurt, distressed, wounded, broken-hearted, unloved, un-nurtured, and are desperately seeking love elsewhere than God.”
Have a Blessed Day &
Love you Mama,
Jennifer
Copyright 2009 Jennifer Owens
