For Mother's Day I had Ben's mom over for dinner. I made a roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, salad, homemade bread, and dessert. I gave her this poem that Ben is making a frame for.
MOTHER OF MY HEART
You are the other Mother
from the day I wed your son.
How can I ever thank you enough
for everything you've done?
You used to rock him in the night
and now I hold his hand.
You raised with love a little boy, and gave to me a man.
My mother-in-law is a wonderful lady and I am so thankful for her. Ever since I entered the Glupker family, I have felt accepted and loved. My "mom" is a generous, kind, and tenderhearted woman. I am thankful for the influence she has had on my husband and for the impact she now has on me as her daughter. What a blessing it is to have a close relationship with your in-laws, I can't imagine it any other way!
On this day I am also remembering my own mother. It is amazing how much you realize you love someone after they are gone. I wish that I had her with me today. It would have been wonderful to have her over for dinner as well. My mom was such a fun person to be around, so full of life and energy. She taught me many things - most of which I didn't recognize until after she passed away. My mom was not a Christian until shortly before she died. For many years we did not have a close relationship. Thankfully I got very close to her the year before she went to heaven. I am so grateful that I had that time to spend with her and get to know her in a whole new way. For those of you who knew my mom you know that she wasn't the best mom in the world. For years I struggled with anger and bitterness toward her for not being the kind of mom I wanted her to be. I was so jealous of the girls who had "good" moms. She didn't always make the right decisions or live the best life. There are certainly unpleasant things I could say about her life - as is true of everyone, but now I can look back and honestly say that God gave me Cindy Miller to be my mom for a purpose and I am proud to call her MY mom! I have learned what it is to forgive and look past someone's faults. I am not ashamed of her, her very life has molded me in many ways.
I remember how Mother's Day used to be a struggle for me - when she was alive. I had such a difficult time picking out a card for her because they were all so mushy. I only wanted to buy a card that said things that I meant. So most of the time they were generic cards that simply read, "Happy Mother's Day." Oh how I would like to go back to those days and change some things. The last Mother's Day I spent with her I gave her a card that was extremely sentimental - and I meant every word. I told her how much I loved her and how proud of her I was. I told her how she taught me many lessons about life as she faced her death. I remember how she got choked up. I think she felt good knowing that although she wasn't there for me or my siblings for many years, she had in many ways made up for lost time in the last year of life. On that Mother's Day 2003, we gave her a bracelet that had the names of her three children on them: Kimberly, Kelly, and Korey. She was so excited! By this time in her illness her eyesight was terrible. She grabbed a magnifying glass and held that bracelet up so she could get a good look at it. I have a picture of her looking at it with a big smile on her face as she began to cry. That day, she asked us if we would make sure that she was wearing that bracelet at her funeral. We saw to it that her wish came true. That Mother's Day was very difficult for me, I can only imagine how my mom felt.
This post may seem sort of rambled, because it is. My thoughts are not very clear right now - but the one thing I want to be clear is that I love my Mom and I am missing her today.
If I can challenge any of you who are reading this, allow me to encourage you to love your mothers and not take them for granted. Be thankful that your mom is here to see you and your family grow. Rejoice that she can come to your wedding and see the birth of your children. Praise the Lord that she is here to see you as a young woman, no longer a child. Regardless of what kind of mom you have, she is the mom God gave you. Honor her, love her, appreciate her, and be a blessing to her today and every day throughout the year.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Mother
Posted by Kelly Glupker at 5:20 PM
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4 comments:
Kelli, thanks so much for your post! i hope your mothers day was a blessed one and that you enjoyed lunch with your mother-in-law. your post didn't ramble either. it was a very nice one that honored the last days of yourmom.
after we lost kevin's mom we realized what we lost after holidays and birthdays came and went!!
it took me a long time to come up with my mothers day posts too. i just felt like i rambled on and on. it wasn't my mom that i had lost, but ma and i were so close and she treated me just like a daughter she never had!
have a great rest of the day!!
Oh, Kelly. I teared up reading this post. I'm glad that you can look at your mom's life and realize the sovereignty and perfect plan of God in it. Thanks for sharing. I will see my mom tomorrow and I can't wait to give her a big squeeze. She's not a Christian but I am so very thankful that God has allowed her to see and to know our little family. I pray that God will shine through us to lead her to Himself.
Kelli - Thanks for sharing that post. I teared up also reading something so personal on your heart. I can't imagine life without my mom and know I take her for granted too often. Thanks for the reminder and will pray God will give you the grace you need as holidays are tough.
Tears here too, though I'm reading it a day late. Thanks Kelly. Praise God for his grace in your life and for his gift of salvation to your mom! Thanks so much for your words here. :)
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