In honor of Mothers Day, I wanted to write a blog about my mom. It’s a good reminder to me too to never stop being thankful for her.
Words seriously cannot express how thankful I am for my mom.
Everyone knows my mom by her laugh. If I ever got lost in a store when I was little, I could literally find my mom by following her laugh. Her joy for life is an awesome thing to know a person by. She loves to laugh.
My mom is a comforter and empathizer. If I am hurting, or my siblings are hurting, she hurts too. I remember a few years ago when I was going through a hard time, and I just knew she would always understand. I knew I always had her to go to.
She loves spending time with us, and she shows that. Even if it’s shopping with us for something we need or want, she still loves it. Or at least she acts like she does. haha One of the biggest things my mom has impacted me in is her love for people. She loves being around people. She loves asking them about themselves. Even though she is 100% an extrovert, and I’m an introvert, I still love people and having conversations, just like my mom.
She also serves us in more ways than I can ever thank her for. And she enjoys serving. She never holds it over our heads or does something to hold it over us. She does it because she wants to. She has always wanted to make our holidays and vacations special. Without much help from any of us to be honest. I’m sure it got stressful at times but she never really showed that. She lived for the smiles on our faces. And we made it hard on her at times for sure, whether it was unnecessary fighting in the car or criticizing her gifts. Yes we’ve done that before- to say we were ungrateful growing up is an understatement.
She’s a woman of her word. She is committed to what she says yes to. She is probably the most dependable person I know. That’s a lost value in today’s world. Something I am still growing in, but she has been the best example of that.
Her gift and passion is hospitality. Half the people reading this (slight exaggeration) have probably stayed at my mom and dad’s house at one time or another. Their doors are always open. People usually just walk into their house unannounced and my mom loves it. She wants others to feel comfortable and not feel unwelcome. I remember one time I decided to go visit my mom and I walked in to see my roommate sitting at the counter eating dinner with my mom haha She’s not just a mom to us. She’s a mom to all. I don’t think anyone who meets my mom doubts her love for them.
More than anything she has shown us unconditional love in remaining patient and always forgiving. She keeps no record of wrongs. Even if she is hurt by one of us and is hurt, she doesn’t take it out on us. She remains quiet and takes it to the Lord.
She hasn’t always been like that, but that’s the beauty of it. My mom has shown me what it looks like to allow Christ to refine her and mold her to look more like Him. To grow. She goes to prayer in everything and doesn’t take things into her own hands like she used to by yelling or controlling anything. She has chosen to be humbled and allow God to work on her own heart. And even when she wasn’t like that, she would always come to me and apologize, even when I didn’t apologize for my rude comments.
She is a close to perfect picture of perseverance. She doesn’t give up on people. She has 3 very stubborn kids. She knows that usually we have to see it on our own. So instead of trying to make us see the best perspective, she prays for our hearts and for us to have open eyes to see. I remember one time, my brother and I were in a pretty heated argument, and I turned to leave the house without any peace over the situation, and my mom said, “Carmen, this is not against flesh and blood. Please pray with me.” And I didn’t. I was too hurt and upset. But she had the big picture. She is the prayer warrior of the family.
She can always see the big picture. She never gives up hope. I remember one night when I was in Thailand. I was really broken over something going on at home. God had just really broken my heart for this person. I called my mom and I was really missing home. I was tired of living in the village with bucket showers and no hot water and no way to get my clothes actually clean and no car to get away for just a day, and no one who spoke any English. I was just tired. And she pointed me back to Jesus and that it’s okay to feel how I was feeling but to remember that Jesus will work it out with the person I was broken for and that He is all we need. We don’t need security in anything else.
I love you mom and I hope you feel just as loved as you make me feel every single day!
