Bittersweet Mother's Day

I'm left here alone as Harper's taking a nap and Josh is making a run to the grocery store. I made myself a pot of black tea in a delicate tea set my mom gifted me from the Czech Republic and brought out some leftover treats from the afternoon tea we attended yesterday. I started thinking about Mother's Day and how wonderful of a day it can be when you have a sweet baby in the room next door and when you're mom is able to pop over for a visit. I'm also thinking of how difficult and sad Mother's Day can be when a baby is lost to or when a child dies or when a mother is gone. Just like Christmas, birthdays, and almost every holiday, Mother's Day can be bittersweet. Tears are welling in my eyes.

I remember my first baby whom I was never given the chance to meet. I cry for friends and women I know who have also lost a baby and have experienced similar devastating losses.

I cry for my sister who has been advised not to have her own children because of her unique heart condition and for their long and difficult process of adoption. I also cry for those who long to be a mom and never had the chance.

I cry for my cousins, Sabrina and Jordin, whose loving mom died too early. I'm sad for my mom as she deeply misses her mom and all the memories they could have shared in the time past.

I cry for my friend Kari and her baby who were killed in a car accident and for their mourning families, but rejoice that Kari and baby are together in heaven.

I cry for the many moms divided from their children by distance, war, natural disaster, and evil.

There are many ways in which Mother's Day reminds us of want and loss, and yet I ultimately choose to rejoice in the blessing God has given me and cherish every moment I'm given with my baby boy. I will not take it for granted as I recognize what a gift it is to be a mom.

One day, when we are all joined together with Christ in heaven, I imagine a Mother's Day where every woman and child is invited to attend the biggest tea party ever. Only then will all pain and sorrow disappear, and we will all be able to endlessly celebrate love and moms with those around us and those lost and missed.