A Mother’s Love
Blog – 5-10-17
A mother’s love, hard to describe, isn’t it. It’s so intense, and it has a depth that is unparalleled. Just when you think you don’t have any more love to give and you fear your heart is stretched to its capacity, you have another child and there’s more than enough love waiting there inside you. Where does this intense love come from? The Bible says that we are made in God’s image, and I believe mothers are a beautiful image of the nurturing side of our creator.
Being a mother is wonderful, but it’s also probably the hardest job in the world! Things never go quite as planned. It’s filled with more joy than we dreamed and more worry than I think we imagined. And it’s a job that doesn’t end on Friday at 5:00, or ever. You’re always on!
I have found that motherhood has been a source of great teaching, and I want to share a very important lesson I’ve learned from being a mother:
No mother is perfect, but love will overcome mistakes.
I thank God every day for verses like this one:
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8
How many of you thought you had all the answers about how to raise kids BEFORE you had them yourself? You were an expert, right, until it was your turn up to bat. Somehow the rules you thought applied to this parenting game didn’t always work. The problem is they might have worked fairly well for one kid, and you started thinking you had things down. Hey, I’ve got this parenting thing figured out!
Just as you’re feeling a little dose of confidence, here comes child No. 2, your little princess. She’s adorable, she’s precious, but she’s got an entirely different set of rules. The old rulebook doesn’t work at all as tears flow, tantrums erupt, and feet stomp. You quickly start to feel like a total failure.
Or maybe you’re in the middle of teenage rebellion and feeling like you’re the worst mother on the planet because, to be honest, you’re not sure you even LIKE your child right now! What kind of mother feels that way?
Normal ones. Honest ones. Tired, worn out ones. People like you and me.
If you are in the middle of the parenting battle, my friend, I want you to know I’ve been there too. There were times I was certain I WAS the worst mother on the planet and I was afraid one of us wasn’t going to come out of the teen years alive! There were nights I cried myself to sleep because of worry about one of my kids. There were seasons where I was sure I had ruined my kids for life.
Let me encourage you, somehow they survive…and you survive too!
And I’m incredibly grateful for verses like the one above that remind us that love does, indeed, cover a multitude of sins. No matter how imperfectly that love comes out of us in our actions and our words, loving our children with all our heart covers up the mistakes we make. Love somehow helps our kids forget the times when we lose it, when we reach the end of our rope and say things we swore up and down we would never EVER say!
After years of agonizing over my mistakes and regretting my meltdowns, I’ve finally realized that even though I never received that “Mother of the Year” trophy I was so sure I would win before I had kids, I know I am doing my very best. I love my kids with my entire being. I would do absolutely anything for them. And I’m learning to trust and find comfort in the truth that the depth of a mother’s love does, indeed, cover a multitude of sins.
So, my friend, I encourage you to hang in there if you’re feeling less than perfect as a mother. A mother’s love is imperfect, broken and absolutely beautiful all at the same time!
And most of all, I want to wish a Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there! I hope you have a day where your family spoils you and makes you feel special. If they forget or someone drops the ball, that’s okay. Spoil yourself! Take a bubble bath. Get a pedicure. Sit in the sun. Celebrate you!
Since I have written a song called “This Mother’s Love,” I thought it would only be appropriate to share it with you. It was written for my son, Christopher, before he left for Marines Corps boot camp. I think it applies to every one of our kids, however, because at some point we have to let them go. So grab a Kleenex and click on the button below to listen.
And last but certainly not least, I want to thank my own Mom for always showing me what a mother’s love looks like. I love you!
Hugs and love,
Jill