Mother's Day. 2020

Today is Mother's Day.

It's always a day that I reflect on my life, my kids, (and grandkids now!), my sweet husband, and all the life experiences that we have been through together. The words, 'I am so richly blessed' come to my mind every time. Every. Single. Time.

And then I also think of those women who have influenced me by how they live or lived.

My mom.

My sweet mother-in-law.

My sisters, the originals plus the ones I've gained through marriages. My friends in their mother roles.

My daughters!

Then that circle expands again -- women who have taught me how to be better, and women who have shown by their examples how to be better, and women who inspire me to want to be like them. Some of those women are older than I am ... but some are younger. New inspiration from fresh, young hearts.

I'm not there yet. But I hope to be getting closer each day.

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This afternoon, I will Skype video call with all of my girls. It's Sunday. We will chat, and share, and re-connect. It's a good feeling. We are brought together through technology and will study scripture together. That's a good feeling, too.

This evening, we will load up and drive over to Todd's parents' home. We will eat in abundance, we will sit on the shaded patio and talk, swap stories, and visit with family. We'll watch the young and young-at-heart play games in the grass. We may even join them. When the evening cools off, we'll make our way home again. And there will be a feeling of peace in my heart.

That's how I see it, because that's how we do it.

This is us. And that overwhelming feeling of gratitude will hit again.

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This is not to say that there are not hard moments. Moments with tears. Moments with frustration. Moments with anger. Moments of deep sadness. Messy moments. Yelling moments. Painful moments. Dying moments. Those are all there, too.

But the joys are also there. And they outweigh the hard moments.

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I guess with age comes some perspective. With a global pandemic comes serious gray roots growing out in an overgrown hairstyle, too.

As we navigate through life, clinging to those wonderful moments help make the hard moments bearable. Clinging to our deep beliefs in God, repentance, redemption, and eternal life puts everything in perspective. Watching my children carry those beliefs in their lives brings a quiet peace in mine.

And it is good.

It is so very good.