That moment when you first became a mother is filled with so much excitement, responsibility and the deepest love you can imagine. You know in your heart you will take care of, protect fiercely, and nurture with every bone in your body this child of yours, as long as you have breath in you. What you don’t realize, until you are much older, is that this is just the tip of the iceberg of what you have created. Becoming a mother is the start of a legacy that intertwines through many generations. It is a bond that ties to the past and reaches deep into the future.
When I became a mom it changed everything in the way I saw my mom. Holding my new baby in my arms I realized, “this incredible love I feel, is how my mom felt about me.” It seems silly, but it was something I could not understand until that very moment. When I rearranged my life and my schedule to be at every event my child was in, I realized that my mom had sacrificed so much to be there for me and cheer me on. When I dropped everything to make cookies, or sew a last minute costume, I remembered how my mom always came through for me, many times saving the day. When I stayed up well into the night pretending to be asleep until I heard the door click and my child arrive home safe, I understood the concern and anguish my mother went through when I would be late. When I stood at my sons wedding I understood the joy and yet the gaping hole I felt as another person would take my place. I learned more than I ever could have about my mom, when I became a mother.
I learned other things about my mom watching her be a grandmother to my children. She was an extension of me when my hands were full and my nerves fried. She stepped in seamlessly and picked up the task. She taught my children things I didn’t have the time to teach. She mothered them like she had mothered me. I am a grandmother myself now and I understand more now why she did all those things for my children. She loved them because they were an extension of me. They were her tribe. My grandchildren are just as much a part of my heart as my children. I love to hear their laugh, show them new ideas and new things, and I love to curl up with them on the couch and read books. I don’t want to miss a single moment loving on them. My mom was a constant in my children’s lives. I have learned so much more about my mom when I became a grandmother.
My mom is now a great grandmother. And although she is not as “hands on” in their life, she is still connected in a huge way to her tribe. She loves to hear me retell the funny stories and antics of the grandchildren. The grandchildren call her “Marble grandma”, because she has marbles of course! What time and age has taken away, faith and prayer has replaced. I can’t imagine a greater love and a greater gift than the prayer of a great grandmother to watch over and protect her grandchildren. I am not a great grandmother yet, but Lord willing one day I will be. The example that my mother has gifted me on how to be a great grandmother has taught me how to continue my own legacy of motherhood.
I realize now, that my mom has always been intentionally reaching out to the generations behind her and training us up. She has been giving me, (us) the foundation of faith so that we could withstand anything that came our way. This is what I didn’t know when I held my first baby in my arms, or the second, or the fifth. I didn’t realize what I was signing up for, or the enormity of it. I never imagined the incredible blessings that would be attached. This is my mothers legacy. My beautiful, loving, special mother.
Motherhood is an expression of the image of God. There are many scriptures in the bible where God is compared or related to motherhood. Here are just a few. God comforts as a mother Isiah 66:13. Protects as a mother bear, Hosea 13:8. Gathers as a mother hen Luke 13:34 and there are many more. If you have been called to be a mom, you are an extension of Gods love. This mothers day, it is my prayer, that you will honor your own legacy and plant seeds in your future generations. Happy Mothers Day!