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I’ve been a mother for nearly 40 years. I’ve gone from celebrating my mom as a child, to the breakfast-in-bed and handprints-on-construction-paper stage of my being a young mom, to the my-kids-are-all-adults stage. Every year it gets weirder, and I struggle with what I should do and how I should feel about Mother’s Day.

I don’t want my kids to feel the pressure of doing something for me because it’s Mother’s Day. I also don’t like the thought that maybe they won’t. The whole thing makes me uncomfortable. Plus, nowadays, my reality is that our multi-generational Mother’s Day get-togethers are a thing of the past. I loved those days. I wielded some control in those times as both a mom and a daughter. And maybe that’s where the problem lies.

This Mother’s Day, I (being the only one of my siblings to live close to our mother) will take my mom out to dinner while my husband stays with my dad, who can’t be left at home alone for any length of time, and he doesn’t get out of the house anymore. Half of my kids have moved away, and they have taken five of my grandchildren with them.

But, I have half of my kids here – and two of my sweet grandchildren. So, how will I look at things? Am I a glass half empty of children or half full of children type of person? And what about those of you who don’t have any of your children close to you? You may say that your glass isn’t half of anything. You may say it’s completely empty, or that you don’t even know where that stupid glass is anymore.

I have been a half-emptier. That has caused sadness and a longing for days gone by.

Now I’m thinking that it could be that you and I both have glasses that are way more than half full if we remind ourselves of the blessings that The Lord has given us. Yes, I need to look up to Jesus. Perhaps that glass is high up there where I need a ladder to access it. Perhaps there isn’t a ladder high enough. That needs to be okay. I can look up and see the blessings. And I can be thankful.

Colossians 2:6-7 – So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Frankly, at this point in my life, all of the holidays look different than they used to. That shouldn’t be a surprise (but sometimes it still is) because my life looks different, too.

We can gain encouragement from Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Philippians 4:12b – I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

Notice that word “learned.” It’s okay to have to learn. I remember when my oldest son was learning to read and write. He would get frustrated when he couldn’t get things down on the paper correctly. I told him then, that if he knew how to do those things, he wouldn’t need to learn them. Now I tell myself the same thing. It’s okay to have to learn to be content. Obviously, it doesn’t come naturally. But I am determined to press on to that goal, and I hope that you are as well.

Love and blessings until we meet again,

Bonnie

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