To you who have held your precious one, soothing his or her
tears simply with your voice and kisses and hugs, who have fed in the night,
who have loved and loved and loved each moment of loving, I really do applaud
you. I am well aware of your
sacrifices. And you deserve to be honored.
But in this moment, I also want to applaud you, my dear sisters,
whose arms ache on Mother’s Day. And I
want to say to you, Happy Mother’s Day.
You deserve it. You have not been
forgotten.
Though each loss is different and subject to a million
specifics for your individual situations, I am certain that some of you will
rejoice on Mother’s Day because of your own mother, and some will enjoy
celebrations because of the children you are raising, but I am also certain
that on this Sunday, some of your hearts will sting because of the precious one
who is not with you. Some of you have
miscarried, experienced stillbirth, or lost precious ones who lived short lives. Your heart still grieves for your child and
your arms still ache to hold her. And
today, I just want to honor your mothering of your children, ALL of your
children.
People tend to disregard a woman’s motherhood if she doesn’t
have a child right beside her. Even we Christians
are quick to say that life starts at conception, but then turn around and act
like a woman is only a mother after delivery. That’s crazy.
Both life and motherhood start at conception. Obviously, there are many joys and responsibilities
that only come after delivery, but there are also many joys and
responsibilities of pregnancy. No woman
who has lost her child needs to be reminded that there are gobs of things that
she will never get to take part in. She
is well aware of what she has lost.
So, I applaud all you
mommies, the ones rejoicing and the ones grieving and the ones doing both. And on Sunday, I will rejoice in the lives of
ALL of your children. I will remember
you, and I will pray for you.
Happy Mother’s Day.
