A Love Letter for Mother’s Day

The following is a love letter written to my mother on this Mother’s Day. As you read it, I encourage you to think about yourself as a mother.

 Being a mom is both joyful and painful. Seeing past the tough stuff and into the future of your child can get you through difficult moments. Imagine if it’s 20 years from now and you received this letter from your child! How would that be for you? How would it help you in the day-to-day?

Dear Mama,

This month, May, is when we honor you and mothers like you. Now that I’m grown and a mama too, I see motherhood in different and deeper ways. Here’s a few heart-thoughts that I wanted to share with you this Mother’s Day.

When I was a little girl, I had no idea what your world was like. It was always all about me—what I wanted, my schedule, what I was learning, and how I was growing. You were an extension of me, always there, always surrounding me.

I took you for granted. You were the part of me that would never fail.

I had no idea if you had a life outside of me—and no idea that you should have had a life outside of me. (I really hope you did.)

Sometimes I was really mad at you. I didn’t understand why you would set limits or respond to me the way you did. But now I realize how I was privileged that I could be mad at you. You were the safest person to be mad at. Because no matter what I did or what I said, I knew you would never leave.

I knew you would always love me.

I had no idea that you experienced just as much pain as you experienced love. I am sure that our tense moments were heartbreaking for you. That deep down, all you wanted was to love me and receive my love back. But you chose to parent me well so that I could become everything you knew that I was created to be.

You loved me more than you loved yourself in those moments. There is no greater love than to sacrifice your own needs for the good of your child.

You taught me how to be a woman and how to be a mother without really saying a word. Oh, you said plenty…I remember so many of your pearls of wisdom! But I learned more by watching you. I watched how you treated my dad, how you worked, how you dressed and carried yourself, and how you loved others.

It is through your example that I learned what love really is. Love is caring more about another person than you care about your own self. Love that is so truly divine—love that only comes from the Divine.

Thank you, Mama. Even though those words will never fully express how deeply grateful I am or what an incredible gift you are to me, thank you.

And I love you forever, my beautiful Mama.