I didn’t write on mother’s day. I didn’t write anything about my mom.
I didn’t write about all the things I love about her or the many ways she’s blessed me.
I didn’t tell her that she is the most faithful woman I know. She had to be, to put up with us kids and my dad.
I didn’t tell her that the prayers she prayed for me during the years when I was lost and angry and wandering were heard and answered. I didn’t tell her that her time in prayer and on her knees have shaken the heavens even though she seems timid and meek.
I didn’t tell her that my heart and world view will always be skewed because of her love for third world missions and the way she raised us to think and question and live out our convictions. I didn’t tell her that she taught me to love well and fully by humbly serving. I didn’t tell her that if we move to Africa some day, she’s coming with us, because if anyone can handle huge change and foreign soil it’s her.
I didn’t tell her that I still stink at laundry and she really should have been on me more in my teen years because I am such a lousy housekeeper now, but oh well, I’m learning. Not laundry, but other stuff, kind of.
I didn’t tell her that she is brave and fierce, even though she followed God’s call in so many areas from taking her babies to Nepal in the early eighties with $75 and no commitment for more support, to facing the terrifying reality her child may die, to losing her husband.
I didn’t tell her that since my dad’s death, her living with us is the biggest blessing, even if she still bosses me around sometimes or tells me to clean my room.
I didn’t tell her that I am a writer because I am a reader and that my love of books was born in the crook of her arm, nestled onto her lap while her melodic voice danced over me, creating worlds and imagery that would still stir me at 33 as I read them to my children.
I didn’t tell her that she has always had my back, from the times when the mean girls would leave me crying into my pillow, to the depressions that would follow the birthing of my babies, to the insecurities and fears that mock me.
I didn’t tell her that there is no one who knows me better or loves me more. I didn’t tell her that she is my BFF, my go to gal when I have a funny story, and the one who will tell it like it is when I need to be put in my place.
I didn’t tell her that she is the only one I will let in the dressing room with me when I am shopping for a swimsuit because she’s honest and everyone can use a good laugh now and again.
We don’t always laugh, but when we do, we laugh like donkeys.
I didn’t tell her that she always gives the best gifts because she really listens and sees people.
I didn’t write any of that before mother’s day because I got to hang out with her ALONE, (meaning no kids), for the weekend and being with her is always better than sitting at my keyboard writing about her. And did I mention a weekend with no kids?
We got to hang out and lay around and read and go to Goodwill, garage sales, and the fabric store with no kids. Can you tell I don’t get out much?
Plus, she reads to me to fall asleep when my kindle is out of batteries. That’s dedication, plus I think she wanted me to go to sleep and stop yakking all night, but still.
That’s love.
To my mom: The woman I would pick as my best friend even if she weren’t my mom. I love you.
I linked up with 
Crying. You have me crying.
adriel recently posted..parenting to build relationships, not robots
Awww, I bet you miss your mom too. Australia is a long way away. July, right?
Alia Joy recently posted..What I Didn’t Write on Mother’s Day
Love this. Thinking of my own mom, but really praying this will be true of me & my daughters, too. That paragraph about the prayers she prayed especially got me.
Jamie, me too. I have a seven year old little girl and I hope we are as close as I am to my mom. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without my mother’s prayers. She is a warrior for sure.
Wow Alia! So beautifully said and true! I love your Mom heaps and am crying too. She really is the best gift-giver I’ve ever met – because she listens and remembers! The photo of you two is a hoot! I can just hear her… and in a few days I hope to be laughing with her too. Thank you for sharing such an honoring piece on your Mom. Glad you two got to get some time away – alone together!
Thanks Leasa. I’m so glad she can go visit you. I think it will be such a special time for her. We work her ragged here with the grandkids. LOL. She could use a good girl friend break.
You honored you mother in the best possible way. They don’t always get the words or the emotions, but they do “get” your presence.
Wonderful post
David Rupert recently posted..Going back to the rubble
Thanks David. I was blessed with amazing parents and now that I am an adult and a mom myself, our relationship has transitioned from mom-daughter to mom-friend. Hanging out with her always brings good times. Thanks for stopping by my blog and for the comment.
What a beautiful tribute! I’m so glad you got to spend a whole girls’ weekend with your Mom!
Thank you for including the part about shaking the heavens with her time in prayer. What an encouragement to keep praying hard and long for our children!
Deb Weaver recently posted.."Motherhood Moments"
Thanks Deb. It was awesome! My mother tends to be quiet and more reserved. She is the one in the background that doesn’t get much notice because she doesn’t put herself out in front, but she’s really a powerhouse. She has prayed faithfully for us from infancy and I credit her prayers for both me and my brother in our spouses. She started praying for the person we would eventually marry when we were little and tomorrow is my 14th wedding anniversary so God has definitely honored her prayers, plus my hubby definitely needed all the prayer he could get cuz I’m a handful.
I need to be more faithful in prayers for my kids. Sometimes I focus a lot on “doing” more and end up frustrated rather than trusting those things to God in prayer.
That is just beautiful!!! I already know that your mom is the most special lady and its been so neat to have similar life experiences with missions and moving out into territory when we don’t have all the support we need. I know too the power of my mom who prays for all of us and of my grandmas prayers in the past. She was so faithful to pray for us all that she got callouses on her knees. It challenges me anew to pray and have a part in moving Gods hand in the lives of all our children and grandchildren. Love you lots and your mom too!!
Love you too! I am doubly blessed by the heritage your mom and dad passed down through you and Josh. I know their prayers for all of us and am so blessed by their faithfulness as well. Wow, callouses on her knees! Challenged indeed.
This is so sweet and lovely!
Janelle
Thanks Janelle.
I really enjoyed reading your post. I have a smile on my face. I hope I can be those things for our girls.
Latonya recently posted..What We’re Listening To: Jamie Grace
Oh, me too. I’m really close to my daughter now but she’s seven. I hope we have a relationship like my mom and I. I certainly have a good example to follow.
What you “didn’t” tell her conveys so well exactly how much she shaped you. You are a beautiful writer.
Erica {let why lead} recently posted..When It Feels Like Motherhood Doesn’t Fit
Thank you so much Erica. I owe a lot to her and her hours of reading to me as a child. I try to remind myself that whenever I don’t feel like reading to my kids.
Oh, this is absolutely charming and perfect. I really like your mom.
Me too!