MOTHER'S DAY 2015

Mother’s Day 2015, I woke up with tear-filled eyes because I was missing my mother.  I miss my mother every day, her smile, her laughter, her quips, her wisdom, just every part of her. But, today was a bit more difficult than her birthday or the day she passed because I can somehow distract myself by doing other things on those days.  But I can’t escape Mother’s Day because the reminder is everywhere and everyone is saying it, “Happy Mother’s Day.” So, I attend church and cry the entire time or I skip church, depending on the magnitude of my feelings that day. Missing my mother will never go away so I’m still learning to push through it, 14 years later.  I am who I am because of her. She taught me so much through her actions, her patterns, and her tremendous words of wisdom. She gave birth to eleven of us; she had a lot of experience and knowledge in the great motherhood category, especially by the time she got to me, #10. I have so many great memories that keep me going.  In anything I encounter, I still stop in my tracks and think, “Would my mother approve of this?” I know all of the things I’ve accomplished in my life, she’d be super proud of me and that makes me smile.

Although I miss my mother, I wish a spirit filled and loving day to all mothers and anyone who has taken on the role of a mother.  And I pray for those who are in a similar situation as me. I pray for your comfort, joy, and peace on this day. 

I will end this post with a quick story that I know my mother would’ve laughed until she was out of breath, if she was here to witness it. One year, I was so down in the dumps and missing my mother. I had cried through the night and into the morning. I woke up with swollen eyes and drooped shoulders. I got up, made the bed, showered, and managed to get dressed to make it to church forty-five minutes earlier to stand at my post to greet parishioners into the sanctuary. I knew if I brought a smile to someone else’s day, it would brighten my day. I was standing at the door greeting parishioners at church when I just happened to look down and noticed I had on different shoes! Different color, fabric pattern, toe shape, heel, but they were the same height. I was horrified but it quickly turned into laughter. If I would’ve sucked it up, utilized the strength God gave me, and declared it a good day, I would not have gotten dressed in the dark and slid my feet into two different shoes. I stayed at church but rushed to my car afterward.  There was no reason to just keep up the embarrassment.  I made it home safely, changed clothes, and went to brunch with my sister and her family. I enjoyed the rest of my day.

The moral of the story is... FOCUS and make the choice to have a great day!

Happy Mother’s Day Ladies!

Brenda A. White
www.brendaawhite.com