Lately I’ve found myself more anxious than usual. Anxious about all of the things mothers carry around, heavy on their chest and heart. Anxious in the depths of motherhood.
In these moments, I want to pick up the phone and call my own mother but I can’t. She’s no longer here. She lives in heaven now, where no phone call can reach her.
Several days ago, I once again found myself wishing for her guidance and expertise. Wanting desperately to ask her how she handled everything. Wanting to know how she managed the stress, the responsibility, the fears, and the frustrations. Then I remembered. She had already filled me with her beautiful ways and wisdom of motherhood.
Several years ago, we were sitting side-by-side, watching my daughter, who was just a toddler at the time. She danced and played and joyfully pranced around, while we sat there watching it all. We started talking about how fast she was growing up. I looked at my mother and asked, “How do you do it? How do you let them grow up? How do you let them do things, and drive, and go to college, and be free?”
My mother’s answer was simple, but it was honest and true. She looked at me, without hesitation, and said, “Faith. You have to have faith. It’s the only thing that will get you through.”
At the time I brushed it off, thinking I had decades before I’d actually be faced with the things that worried me. But it hasn’t been decades, and here I am worried about those things today. Worried about life, and the world, and my children.
I want to call her and ask again. But I know her answer would be the same. It was the very core of her existence. Faith. It guided her, inspired her, and gave her courage. It was who she was and it made complete sense that this would be her advice.
So today, I’m sitting here repeating, “You have to have faith. It’s the only thing that will get you through.” I admire my mother’s strength and I’m appreciative of her advice for the future. She’s gone but she left me with all the knowledge and experience that she could. She prepared me for these moments, even though sometimes I forget.
Mothers are one of life’s greatest gifts. They know our needs far before we do. They prepare us for the future. Even if they’ve already left.
A mother’s influence and wisdom live on far after she’s taken her last breath, and it’s one of life’s best blessings.
