Dia del Madre

Last weekend I had the privilege of celebrating my first Mother's Day with the kids at the home and the people in the church. The festivities started off with a special program at the kids' school. Each grade had prepared a special song or skit to perform on the special stage that had been set-up in the recreation courtyard. As we were walking to our seats, the usher asked which grade my child was in. I smiled and said I had a child in every grade level in the school. He probably thought I either didn't understand the question or that my Spanish isn't very good and I misspoke in my reply. : )

It was a delight to watch our kids perform and to see the end result of the hard work they had put into practicing for their performances. I felt honored to stand up with them and receive their flowers and cards that they'd made in their classes. But there was a sense of sadness that I couldn't shake throughout the program as well as I listened to the themes of the songs and performances that the kids put on. The songs expressed deep gratitude to mothers for the sacrifices they make to provide for their children, for being an example of love and patience to their children, for teaching them about the love and Christ and being an example of what it means to follow him. As I listened to them sing I had to wonder about the emotions they experienced during their weeks of preparation and during their performance. While the kids have hopefully found at New Hope the kind of love they sang about that morning, the lyrics couldn't have been farther off from describing their own mothers. Their own mothers have left them on buses and street corners, they subjected them to abuse and neglect out of desperation to survive themselves. Most of our kids have deep wounds from their mothers, not deep levels of love or appreciation. I wondered as I watched them sing if days like Mother's Day feel like salt in a wound. They smiled. They sang beautifully. They gave no hint of any turmoil that may have been churning inside, but my own heart ached for them as I snapped photos and clapped for each one of them.

While I was home in Denver, I spent a great deal of time enjoying my 10-month old niece Nora. Without trying she becomes the center of attention anytime we're together as we watch her toddle around behind her walking toy, explore the world around her, and reveal her emotions through the most darling and hilarious facial expressions. One night as we were all gathered together, someone commented on the way that babies steal the love and attention of everyone around them. My cousin Erika, who works with inner city children, quietly commented that this is true for us but unfortunately not true for many children in less privileged circumstances. I can't recall her exact words, but as I sat there watching these kids perform for the many mothers in the crowd that day, I was reminded of what she'd said. A desire that I have for myself is to become a woman who can enjoy the joys of life that I had as a child, have now as a young adult, and will have in the future, all the while remembering those who are less fortunate, trying to be an active part of meeting their needs, and upholding them in prayer before the only one who can truly meet their needs.