A Mother’s Legacy of Faith and Love

Do you have someone in your life that you turn to when things are challenging or hard?  When you’re struggling and need support, who do you turn to?  For me that person has always been my Mom, and I am beyond grateful for her.  

My Mom is one of the strongest and most resilient women that I know.  Her life wasn’t easy growing up — she lost her father when she was two, she lost her brother who she was very close with to a brain tumor when she was 15 and he was 16, and she lost her own mother to ALS.  She has experienced both abundance and very lean times as she and my father watched their business rise and then fall with the housing crash in the early 80’s.

The one thing that has gotten her through it all?  Faith.  She has a tremendous amount of faith and trust that there is a bigger plan, and everything is going to work out okay.  Thankfully her faith is so big and strong, she is always able to hold the belief that everything is going to work out okay for me too.

So when things are rough, I reach out to Mom.  Because Mom already knows that I’ll get through it.  Her faith and belief in me is unwavering, so I borrow some of her faith when I’m questioning myself and how I’m going to get through the challenge.

As parents we do that for our children — Our kids look to us to figure out what to think and believe about themselves.  And my Mom has always reflected back to me her belief that I’m strong.  Her belief that with faith, I can handle whatever challenges life throws at me.

She supported me through my decision to move to California in my early 20’s, where I had a lot of time alone as I struggled to fit in.  She supported me through both of my children’s births and through my kid’s early years — as I was a young working Mom — struggling with my own immense overwhelm, guilt and anxiety.  She supported me through the ups and downs of parenting, owning my own business, and through the fear of starting over to pursue the career of my dreams.

Through it all, Mom has been right by my side.  I’ve leaned on her so many times for her faith and belief in me that I’ve got this, that everything is working out for me, and that I will prevail.  She saw that in me, and helped me see it for myself.

And the best part is that she holds the faith and belief that it’s all working out for her too.  If you were to see her today and ask how she is, her response is always “blessed”.  My Mom focuses on her blessings and appreciates all of the good in her life.  She discovered golf later in life and delights in her ladies golf outings.  She loves to cook and is known for her pies with berries from her garden.  She hosts dinners regularly for friends of all ages and is known to have games on hand that she will play with children when families with littles come to visit.  Mom loves her life and everyone in it.   

My Mom has gifted our family with a tremendous legacy of faith and love of life.  I’m working on holding that same unwavering faith and belief for my kids, and I hope that they will turn to me at times in their lives when they need someone to turn to that believes in them more than they believe in themselves — Just like my Mom did for me.

Please know that I do empathize with the parents who didn’t have the same kind of relationship with their mother or may have lost their mother too early.  My heart goes out to you and is with  you today, and I hope you can feel and receive the big hug that I’m sending your way.

If that was the case, I invite you (and everyone!) to consider — What if it was YOU that worked on believing in yourself, everything that you wanted your kids to believe about themselves?  What if you held that faith and belief in yourself, for yourself?  And when things were hard, you were able to look in the mirror and tell yourself I’ve got this, or I was made for this.  

So this Mother’s Day, consider leaning into belief, and faith in yourself.  Consider that you can believe in yourself like your Mom believed in you, or like you believe in your own kids.

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother’s Day Weekend!