Comes the Dawn

It's Mother's Day weekend and I'm enjoying looking at all of the pictures on Facebook of friends with their moms, grandmothers, etc. I'm sad that I'm not home in Arkansas with my mom but I'll be able to see her next weekend when I go home for Shelly's wedding. It's exciting to think I will be able to see her ALL of the time when I move! I can't even imagine what it will feel like to only be 2 1/2 hours away from my parents. I've not lived in AR since I left for college in 1998 and I'm looking forward to starting my life there with Ben and God willing, raising a family. There's really no way to express or quantify in words what my mom means to me so I'm not going to try. However, I'd like to share a poem that I read often and it really encourages me and reminds me of ALL of the women I'm blessed to have in my life. My mom is the strongest person I know and I'm so blessed that God chose me to be her daughter.

COMES THE DAWN

After a while you learn the subtle difference

Between holding a hand and chaining a soul

And you learn that love doesn't mean security,

And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts

And presents aren't promises,

And you begin to accept your defeats

With your head up and your eyes open

With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child

And you learn to build all of your roads on today

Because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans.

And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.

After a while you learn

That even sunshine burns if you get too much.

So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul,

Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

And you learn you really can endure.

That you really are strong.

And you really do have worth.

And you learn and learn...

With every goodbye you learn.

-Author unknown

To my friends who lost their mothers long before they ever thought they would, I pray that wonderful memories with their moms bring comfort on a difficult holiday. I pray for my friends who have lost children. I pray for my friends who desperately desire to be moms but are struggling with infertility. My heart aches for the pain these beautiful women endure. I pray for my friends who are pregnant as they prepare to become mothers and for my friends who are moms and are experiencing the joys and trials of raising children.

I am so thankful for all of the women in my life. I praise God for blessing and enriching my life through these relationships! They show me examples of the kind of mother I pray and long to become someday. My sweet Memaw continually shows me the kind of woman I want to be and she has been in Heaven for several years. Her legacy of love and strength NEVER die. I still hear her saying, "Laura Elizabeth, you be a real sweet girl." Trust me, I feel bad and think of her when I know I'm not being kind or doing the right thing! I'm so thankful to my mom, my Memaw, my sister, friends, mentors, bosses, teammates, the list goes on and on...for loving and accepting me as I am and encouraging me to grow and become a better person.

From a card I love! (it has a bunch of ladies walking together)...

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one." Jane Howard (1935-1996)

Happy Mother's Day to my mom and all of the "moms" I love!!!

Laura