Happy Mother’s Day!

Are you ready for Mother’s Day? This Sunday will mark my 20th Mother’s Day of being a mom. I have loved every minute of it, even the hard times. My children have been a huge blessing to my life and have become two of my very best friends. I remember the day I became a mom, I sat in the bed and cried saying,

What if I screw him up? What if I don’t do it right?”

After all, motherhood is one of those jobs you learn on the job. There’s very little preparation available for you. Yet, I realize, looking back, I had the greatest mentor of all time… my mom. She taught me how to be a mom by modeling it for me my entire life. I learned what it meant to sacrifice, to love unconditionally, to be firm, and most recently, how to push my children out of the nest to pursue their dreams while hiding my tears as they go. I have been blessed to be a mom and to have my mom as my teacher and friend.

I have worked with enough survivors of sex trafficking to know not everyone is so lucky. Many, but not all, of the survivors I have been fortunate enough to know didn’t have a great role model at home, or they had a strained or nonexistent relationship with their mom. Yet, the Lord didn’t leave them alone to fend for themselves. He sent women into their lives to love them to wholeness, to speak life into them, and to show them what it means to be present in their lives. I’ve seen women sacrifice their time, money, energy and heart loving on survivors, traveling long distance to visit them in treatment programs expecting nothing in return.

Sex trafficking survivors aren’t the only ones who need women to invest in their lives. I’m sure you could all think of one or more women who have invested in your life: a teacher, a neighbor, a youth group leader. I have a long list of amazing women who have invested in me.

I love the story of Ruth and Naomi found in the book of Ruth 1-4. Naomi poured her love and wisdom into Ruth, teaching about life. Ruth, in turn, loved Naomi, refusing to leave her alone as a widow. She loved Naomi and and provided for her for the remainder of her life.  The interesting thing is Naomi was not Ruth’s mother. She was her mother-in-law. Naomi released Ruth of that relationship at her son’s death so Ruth could return to her parents, marry again and build her own family. Ruth wouldn’t hear of it.

I tell you this because whether you’ve been blessed with an amazing mother or not, there are women out there who can fill that void. We’re all called to be Naomi to someone, but we’re also called to be Ruth to someone. We’re to invest in others but we never reach the point in life when we don’t need others investing in us. Scripture shares a lot about investing in others by example. Even Hallmark recognizes this and has created a whole line of “Like a Mother” Mother’s Day cards.

If your mom is alive, love on her this weekend. Let her know what she means to you. If she’s no longer living or there isn’t a relationship there, ask the Lord to show you who to bless this weekend. Those who have invested in your life have done so in love without expectation. Why not take this opportunity to bless them and let them know how much you love and appreciate them.

To all of you mothers out there, HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!