Mother’s Day

What a day…as I am typing this I can hear Luke babbling in the den with his daddy, an hour or more past his bedtime.  Wyatt just called me into his room for the third time.  Just to talk.  He’s his mother’s child, for sure.  I am glad to steal these few moments away to reflect on the gifts from today.

My boys have been amazing.  Scott learned quickly (and I mean really quickly) that days like today are celebrated big time where I come from.  Birthdays are totally blown out of proportion, or not if you ask me.  He’s an excellent learner…or just excellent.  Either one.  I take no credit. ;)

So, it began on Thursday with a special delivery of hand-dipped chocolate strawberries just. for. me.  And, yes, there are still 2 left.  I am making these babies last!  My husband is also very good at knowing what I love and what would be a totally selfless gift (seeing that he doesn’t like strawberries).  I’ve indulged about twice a day for four days straight now.  Love!

I’ve received several sweet notes and a beautiful card, too.  But, what’s really spoken to me today are the details.

Like waking up and seeing that my beloved tiger lily is blooming for the first time today.  It was a gift from Mary Clare’s family a little over two years ago.  I had never met her mommy, Kerri, personally at that time but we had exchanged emails and I had spent many sleepless nights on 7C catching up on their blog.  Like my Annabelle, Mary Clare was born with HLHS, too.  She is another half-hearted, big bowed baby girl that instantly claimed a spot in my heart.  If my memory serves me correctly, they were at the beach when Annabelle went to be with Jesus and had a family member in our area bring a flower to the funeral home.  Like many of the other flowers we received, we planted them the following week taking ample time to pick just the right spot for them to grow.  We have a wall of hydrangeas that are full of blooms, our yellow daisy’s in the front flower bed that are very happy, a pink dogwood tree, a truly southern crepe myrtle at the top of the drive, our tiger lily and many more.   

First, I must share a funny little story.  Although, we have a lucious garden now we have never been green thumbs.  Ever.  Scott actually ran over the tiger lily the first year with the lawn mower.  If it wasn’t already dead, then we just knew it was then.  Poor guy, he felt terrible.  He had totally forgotten it was there and just ran right over it.  Apparently, they like to be run over because it returned last year with a vengence.  Oh, and this year it’s nearing four foot tall already with over 20 blooms!

So, imagine my delight this morning when I go to the kitchen window to grab a glass of water and look out to see the tiger lily finally opening it’s first bloom.  I was in tears…knowing where it’s from, who gave it to us, why it was given and that, of all days, GOD opened it’s petals today.  It was the details that blessed me the most.  HE is in the details!

Then, when it seems like the perfect day to sit home and avoid church…we go.  Not that there was ever a thought not to go.  The sermon was on God’s Promises.  Today’s emphasis on having to go through something to truly see God’s hand in our lives.  He never promises us that we won’t get burned, but he does promise us that HE will be there for us…that He loves us and that He will change us for the better when we allow Him to work in and through our lives.  Oh yes, friends, I was in it.  And, I was fine, emotionally speaking.  Until our pastor shared his final scripture reference…1 Corinthians 10:13.  I lost it.  Once again, the details bless me the most.  Remind me that HE cares and that HE is holding me in the palm of His hand.

Almost 15 years ago, my mother knew that she would eventually lose her battle with cancer.  It was inoperable and chemo wasn’t touching it.  As a family, we chose for her to be at home where she could still be involved in our daily lives.  Daddy would video my sister playing basketball and we’d all pile up in their bedroom to watch the game again later that night so she could see her youngest daughter in action.  I would regularly climb into her hospital bed with her and she would ask me to sing to her.  We read the bible together, prayed together, and mostly just talked about life together for the last months we had her with us.  While we were at school, she was busy making sure that every last detail was attended to.  Including our Christmas gifts for that year.  She met Jesus face to face on December 16th and just 9 days later, my sister and I opened gifts she had long before planned for us to receive.  The most sacred to me is my handcarved wooden keepsake box.  She had them install a brass plate in it and engraved a special note to me…and a scripture verse…1 Corinthians 10:13.  The exact verse that was shared in worship today.  Oh, HE is in the details!  I told Scott on the way home from church that only GOD could have prompted my mother to engrave that verse for me knowing full well that that it would be shared today nearly fifteen years later…on Mother’s Day.  When I need her.  When I miss her immensely.  And when I am most thankful that she is the one loving my baby girl.

We rounded out our day by enjoying lunch with Scott’s mother, visiting Flower Town and changing out Annabelle’s hairbow, playing baseball outside (me included and I have the bruise to show for it), and having heart-to-heart conversations as a family.  Wyatt misses his baby sister the most on days like today, too.  And, he opened up to Scott tonight about something that neither he nor we have spoken about in two years.  It crushes us to see him still deal so heavily with his grief.  Nothing a 6 year old should even be aware of.  God is still good…even in the valleys.  And HE has shown it to us today through His little details…