Today is Mothers’ Day and we celebrate moms and motherhood, honoring our mothers. We give thanks to the women who gave us life, and raised us. For me, Mothers’ Day also celebrates the day I became a mother. I am compelled to give thanks for this blessing and honor. I am humbled by the whole experience. I remember vividly each time I conceived. I knew it the minute it happened, felt the presence of ‘another’ inside me almost instantly. It was shocking and awesome.
My sons bring me joy. Sometimes, they also bring me frustration but even in my struggles to encourage them to be their own persons, I give thanks for the honor to know them, to have an impact in their lives, to see myself in their humor or their anxieties. I give thanks most of all for the overwhelming love in my heart. I did not know or understand love until I held my first baby in my arms. And when I awaited the birth of my second child, I feared a second child would diminish that love, fractionate it. To understand – finally – the mystery of Love after my second child was born was the most blessed experience. My love didn’t diminish, love isn’t a finite commodity. Love – unconditional love – is infinite and abundant and boundless. And upon the birth of my second child, my heart expanded, opened up in a way I did not know existed. I knew not my capacity to love. It was fearsome and wondrous. It IS fearsome and awesome and humbling.
I thank God for the gift of motherhood.
