My Mother, a true beauty...

The love between a mother and child is a unique and indescribable bond. It seamlessly combines selflessness with gratification; pleasure with pain; joy with sadness; pride with disappointment; and friendship with love. It is impossible to reflect on my motherhood without embracing the single most influential and exceptional mother I know...my own. I can hardly envision my mother's face today without welling up with pride and adoration. My mother embodies the true essence of motherhood. Love flows from her with reckless abandon. She considers others before herself in every situation. She finds beauty and grace in all things. The quality I most envy in her is her ability to draw goodness from everyone she encounters. Her gentleness cannot mask her strength. She is pure of heart and patient beyond measure. Her faith and trust in God guides her every move, and she never offers advice without first considering His will and direction. As I have grown and become a mother myself, I hear her voice in my head and see the world through her eyes. I rarely gaze at a beautiful flower or a flock of birds without knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that my mother would know each of their names. A tightness fills my chest when an old baptist hymn registers through the congregation and I can all but hear her beautiful voice in my ear. She is my dearest friend and my highest accountability. When I achieve victories, hers is the praise I seek. When I am defeated, hers are the hands that comfort and console. Her prayers for me are never ceasing, and my faith has always been guided and inspired by her. My best interest is always in her heart so I know she will never just "tell me what I want to hear" if it is not beneficial. She loves my children completely, and I can't help but cry when I see the way that they treasure her. I pray that my children will one day love me with even half of the depth that I have for her. Our friendship is valued beyond measure, and I cannot imagine one day of my life without her. I pray a prayer of praise and thankfulness for my mother today. I pray that our Father surround her with his grace and peace today, and that my arms which cannot reach across the miles will be felt through his tender mercies. Mom, these words are only a simple human expression of a much deeper love than could ever be verbalized. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever known and my very best friend. Thank you. I love you. This is how I felt.