These past two years alone, amidst the pandemic, stretching of the heart has heightened the senses of what is seen, felt, and heard. It is with hearts wide open, some left wounded and bare, that people have faced grief of various kinds. As I look out on situations traveled over this journey stretch, I see a posture that has stayed true and present throughout the fight – a mother positioned to protect, provide, nurture, mend, grieve, comfort, and encourage.
Thank you for the posture of carrying on the light in this world you are showing us.
I know that there are some of you aching for the loss of your mother you encountered during this pandemic season or in years past. I wanted to take this time to thank you for the ways you are picking up her legacy and positioning your stance to mirror the like of your valued mother’s presence in this world. Thank you for carrying on the light that she invested in this world and for taking on a posture of kindness and of grace as you keep on forward in remembrance of her. Your position reminds us of the brevity of life and to focus on the things in life that truly hold value and matter. For the places that feel broken and grief-stricken from your view, may you feel lifted up in a tangible way whenever you are reminded that the beauty you miss from her, is still present in the forward steps you are taking with her in mind and in your heart.
For those of you entrenched in the world of motherhood, with kids stretched from newborn to adulthood, I know that your posture has taken many stances as you have carried the roles of caretaker, counselor, comforter, friend, disciplinarian, nurse, and too many to articulate. You have held your children’s hands and you have released their grasped laces on yours. You have prayed in the darkest of hours and you have celebrated in the heights. You have brought in life and you have stood in the middle of death and laid your child to rest. You have worried about the world’s impact on their young hearts and you have praised their steps in cultivating kindness in this world. Your love has stretched high and wide and deep and low. Thank you for sharing your generational impact with us and for learning in the rhythms of grace a posture of trust and of grace. May you feel seen in your stance and thank you for reminding us in daily life that collecting moments lived out loud will always carry impact, even as our people move into different chapters of life.
For those of you carrying the mother posture of the not yet, praying and fighting for pregnancy to happen, and praying and wishing for a partner to carry this bundle with you, may you know that you are heard in the cries of your heart. You are not forgotten on the journey and the way you position your posture to stand with a heart outstretched to others as you wait is seen in tangible ways. Thank you for how you fight through your tears and your disappointments to keep on moving and investing your mothering instincts to extend grace in the power of the chapter you are currently in. The words of testimony being written on your pages are of great value to this world, as you remind us to stay present in the spaces we are planting through all the seasons.
For whatever posture you find yourself in at the moment, may you know your story is seen, your testimony holds value, and you are worthy just where you are today.