Mother’s Day is complicated!!

 

I tried to sit through church this morning, but my heart just couldn’t. The emotions came too fast, too layered. In the end, I had to leave, felt like a long walk to the back with tears streaming and sobs wanting to burst.

This day holds joy, but it also holds grief—for so many.

For mothers who have lost babies.

For moms grieving children, taken too soon.

For women longing to be mothers.

For those who have mothered and not been seen, or who are healing from broken stories.

And for kids, grown or not, whose mom’s have passed away or they carry complicated memories of their moms.

I think about our boy’s birth mother today. The deep brokenness that led to him and his brother entering “the system.” And with varying degrees of sorrow and anger, I think about the former adoptive parents—and the many foster parents—who came and went, leaving wounds of their own.

My child has lived through more than most adults. This day isn’t easy for him—or for me.

But still, I’m a mom. And I’m learning to hold both the pain and the privilege in the same hands.

I also have an incredible mother of my own….she who loves deeply and shows up, no matter what. She deserves celebration too…as does my sweet mother-in-law and my amazing sister-in-laws!

So today is… everything.

Joy and sadness. 

Gratitude and grief.

It’s a lot to carry—but I know I’m not the only one carrying it.

If today is hard for you, I see you.

You’re not alone!