Some Things I Think About On Mother's Day

oN mOTHER'S dAY,

i MAINLY THINK ABOUT 

MY VERY OWN GEM OF A MOTHER,

mARY sUE,

AND OF THE SERIOUS GOODNESS THAT SHE HAS DONE,

AND IS STILL DOING,

FOR ALL OF HER 7 CHILDREN.

mARY sUE WITH GRANDBABIES kARIE AND oLIVIA LAST NEW YEAR'S TIME.

sHE IS AMAZING.

i WANT TO SAY TO HER,

"hAPPY mOTHER'S dAY 

MY VERY OWN 

AWESOMEST MOTHER (YOU).

tHANK YOU FOR MY LIFE.  yOU KNOW THAT i WOULDN'T BE HERE IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU.

tHANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR ME.

tHANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE, UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, EXAMPLE, HUMOR, MEALS, LAUNDERING, TAXIING, BEDTIME SONGS, UNDERSTANDING, TEACHING, SACRIFICES...ETC.

bASICALLY,

YOU ARE THE best AND i LOVE YOU SO VERY, VERY MUCH! 

{{HUG HUG, KISS KISS AND A BIG FAT GRIN.}}"

.....

i THINK ABOUT

mY HUSBAND'S MOTHER AND HOW SHE AND HER HUSBAND HAVE RAISED THEIR 6 BOYS TO BE EXCELLENT, CARING MEN WHO HONOR MOTHERHOOD.  

pLUS HER EXAMPLE TO ME.

tHANK YOU, tIA!

.....

i THINK ABOUT

MY VERY OWN SACRED ROLE AS A MOTHER, AND MY IMPACT ON THESE 4 LITTLE ONES

photo credit

AND HOW THE BIRTH OF THIS UPCOMING LITTLE ONE WILL ADD ANOTHER LAYER TO MY ROLE, CHANGING IT, DEEPENING IT.

.....

i THINK ABOUT

ALL OF YOU OTHER MOTHERS WHO SHARE THIS ROLE AND WHO ARE BOTH STRUGGLING WITH AND THRIVING IN MOTHERHOOD, JUST LIKE THE REST OF US.

oNE OF MY COOLEST-EVER SISTERS, hOLLY; ME; MY TOTALLY TUBULAR MOM; AND MY ROCKIN' MOTHER-IN-LAW AFTER THE RELIEF SOCIETY BROADCAST LAST FALL.

AND WE RULE THE WORLD!

That sounds extreme (and I look pyscho in the picture above), but really what an important job rearing children is!  What better way to "change the world" than to raise giving, serving individuals who will go about doing good to those around them, and who will teach their children to do the same.

i KNOW THAT WE ARE DOING A HUGE AND IMPORTANT THING

BY BEING (dedicated!) MOTHERS.

.....

i THINK ABOUT

THE FOLLOWING TALK THAT i READ A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WHEN PREPARING FOR A TALK IN CHURCH ON MOTHER'S DAY.

(i DON'T THINK THAT i MENTIONED THAT DURING MY TALK THAT DAY jILES WAS LIKE 2 WEEKS OLD AND IN A CAR SEAT CARRIER THING UP ON THE STAND WITH ME; kATE WAS PUSHING AGAINST MY LEGS (PUSHING ME AWAY FROM THE MICROPHONE) THE WHOLE TIME i WAS TALKING, TELLING ME THAT SHE NEEDED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM; AND THAT sPENCER AND eZRA WERE UP AND DOWN FROM THE STAND WHERE i WAS AND IN THE CONGREGATION WHERE wESTON WAS.  i WAS SO INTO GIVING MY TALK, THOUGH, THAT IT DIDN'T REALLY PHASE ME, UNTIL I WAS DONE AND I SAT DOWN AND THOUGHT ABOUT IT, THEN i THOUGHT, FOR REAL, DID THAT JUST HAPPEN?  wE WERE ENTERTAINING, i'M SURE, BUT PEOPLE STILL COMMENTED TO ME ON WHAT i SAID, SO AT LEAST MY CHILDREN WEREN'T TOO DISTRACTING.)

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

Elder Jeffery R. Holland shares a tribute to Mothers

The work of a mother is hard, too often unheralded work. Please know that it is worth it then, now, and forever.

One young mother wrote to me recently that she felt like the world expected her to teach her children reading, writing, interior design, Latin, calculus, and the Internet—all before the baby said something terribly ordinary, like “goo goo.” She worried because she felt she didn’t measure up or somehow wasn’t going to be able to be equal to the task, the mental investment, the spiritual and emotional exertion, the long-night, long-day, stretched-to-the-limit demands that sometimes are required in trying to be and wanting to be the mother God hopes she will be.

But one thing, she said, keeps her going. I quote: “Through the thick and the thin of this, and through the occasional tears of it all, I know deep down inside I am doing God’s work. I know that my motherhood is an eternal partnership with Him.”

Mothers, cherish that role that is so uniquely yours and for which heaven itself sends angels to watch over you and your little ones. Yours is the work of salvation, and therefore you will be magnified, compensated, made more than you are, better than you are, and better than you have ever been. And if, for whatever reason, you are making this courageous effort alone, without your husband at your side, then our prayers will be all the greater for you. Know that in faith things will be made right in spite of you, or more correctly, because of you. We thank all of you, and tell you there is nothing more important in this world than participating so directly in the work and glory of God. 

May I say to mothers collectively, in the name of the Lord, you are magnificent. You are doing terrifically well. The very fact that you have been given such a responsibility is everlasting evidence of the trust your Father in Heaven has in you. He is blessing you and He will bless you, even—no, especially—when your days and your nights may be the most challenging. 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.”

Happy Mother's Day, ladies!