It’s Her Birthday!

It is my mother’s birthday. The one who gave me life and dreams and many other amazing things. Life. Love. I will celebrate her from another country. I expect a tres leche cake is somewhere in my day! (We have a habit of celebrating birthdays whether together or apart). I was thinking about the fact that we are all born into specific families and countries. From there we find ourselves in specific cultures, neighborhoods and church families. Some of those placements are dark and destructive. Some are beautiful and encouraging. We all have issues…as families do. Today I celebrate how blessed I am with my mom. She always believed in us and accepted each one of us. She never tried to convince me to be anyone other than my strange self:) She did not always agree, but she always loved each of us exactly where we were.
When I needed a mother to feed me and dress me, she was there. When I needed a mom to guide me and teach me, she did it with determination and grace. When I became an adult, she set aside the “responsibility” of raising me and embraced me as a person of spiritual depth with whom she could share the deeper places of her soul. Not every mom can make that transition. I have never stopped needing and appreciating the love of my “mom”. But I treasure the spiritual friendship of a woman who grows spiritually and can share that with me. She teaches me, challenges me – and even learns from me, as I continue to learn from her. She inspires me, always!

You Gave Her…
You gave her Grace; she gave me wings
You gave her Wisdom and she sat quietly with it
Then without notice… when most needed,
it became the melody
she sings
to me.
You filled her with Love; she overflowed to me
You gave her Determination, so she lived it loudly
Then without warning…when most needed,
It became the encouragement
that set my dreams
free.
You gave her Peace; she used it to show me the way
You gave her Prayer, she faithfully shared it
Then with loving intention….when most needed,
it was the power and substance
that grounded our stay
through valleys and
mountain tops.
Thank you, God, for creating such an
Amazing woman. My mother. No other.