In case your social media feed didn’t give it away or the dozens of men pouring over cards last minute at Target didn’t clue you in, it’s Mother’s Day.
I’m generally a sucker for most holidays, because who doesn’t like to celebrate life and all its various milestones and relationships? Plus, I have the best mother on the planet (sorry everyone else!), so it’s my joy to celebrate the incredible woman and rock she is to our family.
And even though this is my fifth Mother’s Day as a mother myself, I still look around at the chaos and the cribs and the toys and these three precious kiddos and think wow, I can’t believe they are mine!
But for many, this holiday brings a deep sadness. I think of our neighbors, who just lost their young daughter-in-law to cancer and now face the prospect of helping their son and 4-year-old grandchild navigate new, difficult waters in the absence of “mama.”
I think of those who have lost their moms and struggle deeply with the gaping hole created by such a loss.
Today especially, I think of a dear friend who longs to be celebrated on this day with a baby in belly or arms. Today, my heart is with all of you whose hearts are heavy with the desire of motherhood.
For years, this holiday caused a deep ache in my own heart, as I longed and waited to wear the title of “mother” and celebrate this day with my own child. And while God has answered that longing of my heart—and I’m incredibly grateful and thankful—becoming a mother has not been “the answer” to the ultimate longing of my heart. Because the truth?
My heart still aches. It aches in a different way now, but it does nonetheless.
It aches with the weight of a special needs child and the burden of navigating a path for him in this world that is oftentimes cruel to those who are different.
It aches with the burden of raising strong, confident daughters in the midst of our sex-obsessed, porn-saturated culture that screams at them daily, you are only as good as your body, your face, your beauty.
It aches with the sheer magnitude of what it means to raise little children to be strong, self-sufficient, whole, and wholesome members of this world.
I share all of this simply to say, if your heart is aching on this Mother’s Day, I understand. And you are so not alone.
In these manufactured holidays, it’s all too easy to fall into your sadness and think if only I was a mother! Then I would be:
Happy
Peaceful
Fulfilled
Whole
But this is simply not true—it’s a crafty lie that feels impossibly true, but it’s a lie intended to keep your head down and your heart defeated.
The truth for you, and for me, and for every one of us, is that nothing on this earth can fully satisfy the deepest longing of our desperately longing hearts.
I know, and I mean, I know—that when your arms are empty, clinging to the truth that Jesus is enough seems a hard, outrageous choice. So today, I simply whisper a prayer over your heavy heart, and I ask God to make His Word come alive in you:
For He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul He fills with good things (Psalm 107:9 NIV, emphasis added).
Good things.
May you see them, experience them, press on in relentless faith, believing that they are up ahead and waiting for you.
And whatever the boat in which you find yourself this Mother’s Day, may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, guard your heart and soul and mind, dear reader.
With Grace,
That was beautiful and made me tear up and had so much truth in it. I nodded at everything. The role of motherhood won’t give you salvation, mothers come with a lot of love and pain, special needs parenting is impossibly difficult with little to no navigation laid for us, raising girls and kids in general is hard because the world is broken. All this and yet there are still millions of woman who would give anything to be a mother themselves because it is the most important, meaningful, challenging, most rewarding, life changing role a human can have. But the one thing I wish every woman would know who is trying to be a mother is that you don’t need to be a mother to find purpose or meaning or fulfillment in life and enjoy this moment because you will long for it when you are a mom.
Happy mothers day Meredith. You are one of those special mom’s who are changing the world. Your three littles are so lucky.
Thank you! On point again!!! And your mom IS the best, you take after her. This brought laughter and tears, and as your mom can tell you being a mom never ends, it just changes and we all need a mom sometimes, even if it’s not the one who bore us or raised us. And having our kids need that as well isn’t always easy; it does give us more reasons to celebrate all those who “mom” others, related or not.