Some thoughts and prayers for tender hearts <3

Happy May Day!

Russ and I are feeling the crunch of all the things that May brings. There are graduation announcements to attend to, end of year programs stacked in with summer ball kicking off. Both older boys are playing multiple school sports along with their non-school teams. And then it is Recital Weekend for our Sweet Caroline, so it has been quite the busy week and the weekend is jam-packed. 

There is another celebration in May that I have discovered gets tender as the years pass. 

I well remember May of 2009 when I saw the Mother’s Day cards on display. For the first time in my whole life of what I am able to remember, I wouldn’t be purchasing a card or gift for my mom. 

She had passed in December and I was experiencing all the “firsts” without her. Her first birthday gone, our own Sarah’s without a card from Grandma with the dollar amount of her years. I would be marking off other birthdays and holidays as the firsts but this one hit hard. 

Thankfully we still had Russ’s mom and that helped. But in 2017 I faced the rack of cards with extra tears flowing. I have to say that all these years later, there is a tug when I pass them in a store knowing we don’t need one for either of those ladies who raised us and loved us through the ages and stages of our lives. 

It is a kind of strange and empty feeling that can only experienced and not explained. 

So my heart is sensitive to several younger than me moms who will be going through this sense of loss this year. I say a little prayer for when it hits that they feel the love and comfort of our Father, who knows and understands. 

I pray for my friends who have spent many Mother’s Days understanding that sensation of wishing they could read through the stacks and find just the right wording to sent their wishes to their moms. 

I can also add that many years, due to circumstances and personalities, finding a card that expressed love without being fake was difficult for me and my mom. There were seasons where, due to personalities and baggage, it was hard to do. I am grateful for the way God orchestrated the last five years of her life in that the end of the story was sweeter than the middle. 

So for that as well I pray. For those who are struggling with sending a sincere greeting that honors both the recipient and the sender with honesty and grace, I pray for God to guide and lead with the example of His unconditional love. 

Much to pray for as I look around and think of others and their stories. God is not finished with any of us and his grace, mercy and love will guide us in all our struggles and carry us faithful in all our joys.