Happy Birthday, Mom
This lady, right here guys. This lady is my mother. She is also the grandmother to Benaiah and one of my best friends. To say that I’m thankful for her, doesn’t quite encapsulate who she is and is just the tip of the iceberg of how I feel about my mother.
Let’s start with the basics. My mom is sincere. Genuine. Loving. Patient. Compassionate. Caring. Giving. But the one attribute that I want to hone in on today, is selflessness.
My mother embodies selflessness. I think if I had to pinpoint just one trait about her, selflessness would be it. Over the years of growing up and now into my adulthood, I’ve seen her exemplify selfless over and over and over and over and over again. She’s always the last to eat, she always listens with intention, she offers encouragement and support, and she will go out of her way (way out of her way) just to help me with a simple project.
I first saw this example when I was little, as she was homeschooling us. I know it would have been easier for her to send us to school, but she wanted to home school us, even if it meant sacrifice for herself.
She stayed up late writing lesson plans or getting her class work prepared for the following day. She spent countless hours helping me with math, English, spelling, History, and Science. Her love for running eventually inspired me to run and I can’t thank her enough for that.
Throughout my childhood, she continued to display selflessness when she would have to drive me everywhere before I had a license. I volunteered at a semi-local equestrian center (key word, semi local) and she would, without complaint, drive me to and from my volunteer job once to three times a week. Without her help, I would never have gotten my job that I had for four years.
Through the years, I observed her selfless heart as she cared for her sick father, cooked meals for friends in need, continued to home school us, support us in our endeavors, and tell us hard truth when we needed to hear it.
It never failed, every morning, I would wake up and find mom, curled up on her favorite chair spending time with Jesus. And even when I would interrupt her, talk her ear off, and break up that precious quite time (I didn’t realize quite the importance of peace and quite until now!) she graciously, selflessly, allowed me to talk, listened, and then went back to her time with the Lord.
When I struggled with my eating disorder, my mom walked with me through that time and really was an important person God used to bring me out of that dark place.
Even through this new journey of becoming a wife and mother, my mom has shown selflessness, by driving an hour to come and visit me when I’m in the mood for company, brings me surprises here and there and continues to support me in my goals and dreams. All of this is such a high level overview of just who my mom is and what she means to me, but I hope it gives you a glimpse into just who this woman of God is.
Thank you mom for everything. For all the sacrifice. For all the giving. For teaching me how to eat healthy and how to run. For all the late night talks, homemade meals, runs, races, tears, laughter, and so much more. Thank you for showing me what it looks like to be a Godly wife and mother. You truly are beautiful, inside and out. I hope to be like you when I grow up.
Love you forever,
Your Lulu girl