from my mom on Mother's Day

I was pretty sure we were supposed to honor our mother's on Mother's Day but this Mother's day my mom mixed it up a little and because this blog is in a sort a journal of my life, you get to read it too and because I know my mom I know she hopes that it touches and encourages someone else's heart like it touched mine.
How blessed am I to have had a mother that had such a similar road in life that I now have?


Reflections from Mom,
So, I'll bet today was a hard day for you, as you tackled being a mother, all by yourself, again.I've been in that place, many times, and though the emotional side of it is now beginning to fade with the passing of time, I can still recall my tears and my rantings and the times when I wondered if I had made the right decision to marry a military man who was gone all the time.Marrying your Dad was the best decision I ever made in my life, no bones about that. But I can well recall my time in Alaska, which was the hardest duty station of all for me personally, as Dad was gone the majority of the time there. There were some times there, that were most difficult and there was even a point where I came very close to considering it too hard, and contemplated leaving there and going back to Oregon.I remember wrestling with God as I felt so helpless and alone at times. His voice, which resonated through the wise counsel of friends, was loud and clear to me, that He was there for me, and I just needed to stop comparing, stop feeling sorry for myself, stop telling myself that I deserved better (oh yes, I was struggling with the "me" factor big time)Stop trying to do it all ( in that case it was work, and take care of you and Jonathan) and just learn to believe God for what He had said He wanted to be in my life -My provider, My all-sufficient one, My Rock, My Shelter in the time of Storm, My Comforter, My Friend.God surrounded me with women friends, like Marion S., who did our laundry while I was at work, and often had dinner waiting for us when I got home. She came to know Jesus through our friendship and I often marvel at how that happened, especially when I think I was so needy during those years. But that is just how God is. I had a great need. He brought a person to me who also had the greatest need, and in that relationship, we both were filled.I wonder who God has brought to you Holly, during this crazy time in your life as well. Be ever watchful of those golden opportunities, where your needs become the open door to share the Good news of Jesus with others.I know that it is so hard for you. I also know that if I could, I would take that burden away from you completely. But I think that God had a plan to use this "hardship" to open doors for you that would never have been opened otherwise. Can you see yet, what those opportunities are? I know God is right there in the trenches with you, and that is the only reason I can sleep at night and not worry. So, today on this Mother's Day, we celebrate God's gift to us. That gift comes with joy and pain, all rolled up into the packages that our children come in.I'm so thankful for you. I'm so thankful for Jonathan, and I am so Thankful for every experience in my life that has made me more the person God wants me to be. Hard days, good days, they've all shaped me and they continue to shape me, making me more like Christ. And so it is with you. So, I hope you will continue to embrace the chaos, just as you have stated, because that chaos will continue to bring you closer to the one who can meet every need in your life, and I say it again, every need. Rejoice, my dear one, because Jesus suffered to identify with your suffering, and we can love, because He first loved us!
You are precious and I love you!
Mom