Mother's Day

I have been so very blessed to always have been surrounded by truly wonderful women in my life.  My Mother is pretty incredible.  I admire her in every way.  She is a righteous woman of strength and faith.  She is the woman I hope to become.  I love you Mom.

I also have a pretty amazing second Mom.  How did I ever get so lucky?  She is a wonderful woman who is so supportive and loving.  She is a great example of service.  I am grateful to have her a part of my life.  And am forever grateful for how she has taught and raised Mark.  

There are countless other women that have taught and molded me and I am truly grateful.  I have wonderful sisters, grandmothers, aunts, sister-in-laws, cousins - the list goes on and on.  Mother's Day is a great day to think of all the amazing women in our lives. 

My first ten months of being a mother have been - well, incredible.  I am so humbled to have been entrusted to be the Mother to my little Jacob.  I love that little boy more than I could ever describe.  I pray every day that I can be the Mother that he both needs and deserves.  But to put it simply:  

I love being a Mom. 

A couple weeks ago I found this talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.  I fell in love with it.  There are so many wonderful words of encouragement he gives to mothers.  I wish this talk could get circulated because I think it really is incredible.  I highly recommend reading the whole thing.  I will even make it easy and you can just click here.

As always, I have a hard time condensing my favorite parts.  But these are the parts that I really wanted to remember.  So much of it is so applicable to my life right now (I am sure you will be able to guess which!) and so much of it reminded me of the virtuous women in my life. 

 "In speaking of mothers generally, I wish to praise and encourage young mothers.  The work of a mother is hard, too often unheralded work.  The young years are often those when either husband or wife - or both - may still be in school or in those earliest and leanest stages of developing the husband's breadwinning capacities.  Finances fluctuate daily between low and nonexistent.  The apartment is usually decorated in one of two smart designs - Deseret Industries provincial or early Mother Hubbard.  The car, if there is one, runs on smooth tires and an empty tank.  But with night feedings and night teethings, often the greatest challenge of all for a young mother is simply fatigue.  Through these years, mothers go longer on less sleep and give more to others with less personal renewal for themselves than any other group I know at any other time in life.  It is not surprising when the shadows under their eyes sometimes vaguely resemble the state of Rhode Island.  

Do the best you can through these years, but whatever else you do, cherish that role that is so uniquely yours and for which heaven itself sends angels to watch over you and your little ones.

  You are magnificent.  You are doing terrifically well.  The very fact that you have been given such a responsibility is everlasting evidence of the truth your Father in Heaven has in you.  He knows that your giving birth to a child does not immediately propel you into the circle of the omniscient.  If you and your husband will strive to love God and live the gospel yourselves; if you will plead for that guidance and comfort of the Holy Spirit promised to the faithful; if you will go to the temple to both make and claim the promises of the most sacred covenants a woman or man can make in this world; if you will show others, including your children, the same caring, compassionate, forgiving heart you want heaven to show you; if you try your best to be the best parent you can be, you will have done all that a human being can do and all that God expects you to do.  

Yours is the work of salvation, and therefore you will be magnified, compensated, made more than you are and better than you have ever been as you try to make honest effort, however feeble you may sometimes feel that to be.  

Rely on Him.  Rely on Him heavily.  Rely on Him forever.  And "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope."  You are doing God's work.  You are doing it wonderfully well.  He is blessing you and He will bless you, even - no, especially - when your days and your nights may be the most challenging.  Like the woman who anonymously, meekly, perhaps even with hesitation and some embarrassment, fought her way through the crowd just to touch the hem of the Master's garment, so Christ will say to the women who worry and wonder and sometimes weep over their responsibility as mothers, "Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole."  And it will make your children whole as well."

Happy Mother's Day!