I am Praying for the Mothers

I want to write a word to the mothers today.

Mothers, there really are all kinds.

There are grandmothers who have become like mothers once again, fathers who have too often been both father and mother, and then the mothers who have been both mother and father.

There are the courageous women who push through the pain of bringing a child into the world only to then be strong enough to put that baby up for adoption. There are the mothers who fill out all the adoption paperwork, the miles and miles of it, who are praying that that very same baby will soon be called their own.

There are the mothers who have healthy children who delight in the little smiles that fill their houses, but still need more patience than they'll ever have, who dream about the sleep that they once had, and remember the lives they gave up to raise their children. There are the mommas with sick children who pray every day that the Lord would heal their sweet babies and give them life, and there are the mommas with well babies who pray every day for their child's life in Christ.

There are the moms who have broken hearts because although the world does not call them 'mother' they are trying so very hard to become mothers. They have all the love to give but no one yet to give it to. There are the women who long for husbands so that they can become mothers, and the women who have the husbands and the pills and the shots and all the best doctors, but still no babies.

And then there are the mothers I hold so dear to my heart. There are the mothers who cannot hold their babies today. They are the mothers who will not be getting little handmade cards because letters from heaven just don't quite make it on time for Mother's Day. These are the mothers who have been so very blessed to know how much their hearts can love a child so quickly, but also how much their hearts can long for that same sweet face every moment of every day.

There are mothers who live in a very scary world. They long to be mothers again but getting back on the horse means opportunity to feel the deepest of pains all over again. Then there are mothers who have decided to get back on the horse and who are trying their best, but having no luck at all. These mothers want so badly to be a mother to a baby that lives.

There are mothers who are so blessed to be pregnant again after loss. They know the sweet blessing of a baby inside, but they know all too well how much it could hurt to lose this one too. There are days that they smile and celebrate and rejoice and there are days that they are scared to death to love again, scared of what the others say is a small chance but what they know is in fact a reality.

So I pray today for all the mothers - through times of wanting, through moments of the unexpected, through weeks of pregnancy whether blessing or pain, through endless calls and home studies and paperwork, through hours of labor, through months of sleepless nights and selfless love that puts any romance novel to shame, for the years and decades of praying for that little baby that you long for, that you miss dearly, that won't give you a moment's rest, that grew up and away all too soon and took a part of your heart with them.

Today I pray that you will know the sovereignty of the Lord. I pray that you would know He hold the whole world in His hands. I pray that you would praise Him for the joys of motherhood and that you would draw near to Him in the sufferings that come too.

I pray that as the Lord has given you this great Mother's heart to love - that you would see His great love for us, His heartache when He longs for us, His love without regard, His desire for our best even when it sometimes means we don't get exactly what we want, exactly when we want it, His love that loves us enough to see us through pain and suffering and the promise of eternal glory. Oh this great, great love.

So for all of you out there, mothers of all kinds, today, on this very special weekend, I am praying for the mothers.