Mother’s Day and any day that celebrates parents is particularly close to my heart for a couple of reasons. The first is obvious, I am a mother now and I treasure it beyond any other relationship I have, outside of my marriage. But really, it’s a celebration of that too. Without my husband we wouldn’t have the two precious daughters with whom God has gifted us. I’ve learned so much as a mother that I never would have known otherwise, including lessons about God’s immense love for us as His children.
The second reason I especially treasure Mother’s Day is that I have two mothers, my mother who raised me and a birth mother. I thank God for the latter because it led me to the former. I’m grateful to my birth mother for giving me existence and I’m thankful to my adopted mom for rescuing me from an undoubtedly pain-filled life and embracing me just as closely as her naturally born child.
It is a long and complicated history, of which I do not remember (I think it is God’s way of preserving my heart and mind). Although I’ll never know my birth mother in this world, I like to imagine that what she did, she did out of love. I was discovered abandoned along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea. My real date of birth and age are unknown. In order to be adopted overseas I needed to have parental consent. The man who oversaw the orphanage where I was placed, adopted me first, so that parental consent would be met. When I was three years old (at least after being assigned a birth date), I traveled to America to meet my new family.
Despite my rough start, I was embraced by a loving family and had a typical American childhood. My adopted mother, who I call my “real” mom, because that’s who she is to me, modelled love for others (especially the smallest of creatures), encouraged my creativity (and still does), and taught me a myriad of skills (cooking, sewing, cleaning, etc.). She is the ultimate DIYer and raised me to figure out how to use my knowledge and skills to do what I needed for myself. She helped me become the woman I am today. It is evident that bonds of blood are not stronger than the bond of family, nurture over nature.
I hope you take a moment this Mother’s Day to honor your mom! Stay tuned for my next post for a Mother's Day card tutorial!
I also have a lovely download of printable cards that would make a sweet gift. You can also purchase that here. Enjoy!
Comments