Just in case you didn’t know, I’m Mexican 🙂 and I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way.
I tell you this because today is May 10th and in the Mexican world, today is Mother’s day.
So if you want to take a wild guess, yes, this blog is about my momma.
Growing up (and honestly still today) my mom would tell me, “Un día me entenderas” which translates to “one day, you’ll understand.”
Fact: Hispanic culture has about a million sayings for everything in life and this just happens to be one of them.
My mom is my biggest blessing. She met the Lord at the age of 12, but her home was split right down the middle. Don’t worry, not in the sense of divorce. My grandparents have been married for 50 years now and have 10 kids, tons of grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.
I told you we were a Mexican family 😉
Divided in the sense that my abuelita was Catholic and my abuelito was Christian. My mom grew up a little confused if she was supposed to go to mass or Sunday morning service.
Anyways, she met my dad and fell in love at a very young age. She was only 17 when they got married and had my brother at 18. I know, crazy!
At that time, my dad had migrated north into the promise land of the United States of America. They’re original plan was for my dad to come and work for a while and be able to financially support my mom and brother in Mexico. But you know that verse,
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” Romans 8:28
Let me tell you that he does!
Okay, back to my mom’s journey. The story goes that my dad had been working in the US for a couple of months now. My mom says it just hit her one day. “What am I going to give my son when he asks me for his dad? American dollars? That’s not enough.”
Let me tell you that once my mom sets her mind on something, she’ll get it done. So she did. She packed up her things, borrowed some money, picked up her baby and moved to the U.S.
Just a brave 18 year old, leaving her family, country and everything that was familiar for the sake of LOVE.
She came and met my dad and started a whole new life in a completely new world. She knew she loved her husband; she knew she loved her little boy. Even though she loved her parents, family and country, she risked it all. I can say that she even risked her life for the sake of love.
She arrives to America and Christ met her exactly where she was. Yes, full of hope and dreams, but in deep need of her savior. She came chasing a “better life,” but little did she know that the best life was found in Jesus.
4 years after the big move, I came into the picture. The Lord had me in mind all along.
I grew up in a Christian home and my dad actually came to Christ through my birth. I’m a miracle baby, but that’s a story for another day 🙂
Growing up in America, in a Mexican home is a ton of fun! Sometimes, lol. I got to grow up as an average American kid in the 90’s, just with an extra pinch of spicy at home. Like you can’t walk around barefoot at home or you’re going to catch a cold. Spankings were no joke with my mom. I actually wasn’t allowed to speak English at home, so Spanish is my first language. I was NEVER allowed to spend the night at anybody’s house. Saturday was cleaning day and we weren’t allowed to sleep in. I could go on forever. Of course, my mom would always say “un día me entenderás” (one day you’ll understand).
Fast forward through my awkward teenage years and I’m a bible school student in Texas. The Lord begins to place in my heart the desire to travel and share the Gospel. Hanging out in the dorms with a friend, she casually tells me about the World Race. Travel for a year, all around the world for the sake of Jesus. There couldn’t have been a more beautiful tune sung that day. I remember thinking, “Wow! that sounds like everything I’ve ever wanted.” Fast forward a couple of years and I finally begin to understand my mom. I was packing up my things, leaving all that was familiar and all for the sake of love.
Love for my Father that had so intricately led our family and my life up to this moment. Love for my neighbor, even if they were in Africa. More than anything, love for my mom (and dad) that had risked it all so I could have this opportunity to go.
Not once did I have to stop and think about my legal status in the country and if I could even travel because of their sacrifice. Not once did I go to bed hungry like the thousands of children that do around the world because the Lord always provided a job for my parents. Not once did I have to worry if I had a house to come home to. Not once.
So today, as I sit in Ecuador as a missionary, I can’t help but to stand in awe of the Lord’s faithfulness in my life and my family. As deeply as I desire to be near my mami, because you know I’m super close to my parents as any Mexican should be, I know the Lord has brought a new perpective.
Just like my mom, I uprooted my life and left it all for the sake of LOVE.
Pero un día me entenderás y ese día llegó.
(But one day you’ll understand and that day is here)
From one very vulnerable heart to another,
Diane
Here are some fun family pictures
