Mother's Day Weekend
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Happy Mother's Day! Although we celebrate moms all year round, this is a special day that is set aside to honor the mothers in our life. It can be a day of celebrating moms that are here, or remembering those who no longer are. It is a day of celebrating what it means to be a mom. If you are a woman with many children, one child, a mama who has lost children, a mama hoping to have more, a mama of adult children, a mama of adopted or foster children, you are valued. You are
loved. You are cherished. You are seen. You have a special role! Even on the hard days, keep the faith. Keep going. Your work is so very valuable.Â
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One of our board members wanted to share this passage that she found in one of her devotionals. Please enjoy, and have a wonderful weekend!
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Sunshine of My Life
By Shirley Dobson
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The gift was not one that you would expect to receive from an eight-year-old boy. He had
bought me a lovely desk set. The ostrich-feathered white pen looked like an old-fashioned quill that Ben Franklin might have used to sign the Declaration of Independence. The stand was padded in matching white, with a spray of pink flowers delicately painted around the edges. I was so touched that my eyes brimmed with tears as I hugged and thanked my son for such an extravagant gift. It has been five years since that day and the pen still sits on the nightstand near my bed as a reminder of
Ryan’s spontaneous gift of love.
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There are times in our lives when the cost of parenting seems staggeringly high! No matter how you look at it, children are emotionally exhausting, time-consuming, sometimes frustrating, and always maddeningly complex. In fact, their developmental years are governed entirely by “Murphy’s Law.” For example, if they drop a slice
of bread on the carpet, it will inevitably land buttered side down. And when they catch the flu, they never vomit in the bathroom. They turn up their noses at the oatmeal and gag at the sight of their eggs but enthusiastically drink the dog’s water and float their rubber duckies in the toilet. I’m sure you could add to this list of childhood “Murphyisms.”
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But
in moments when you are touched by the soul of a child, as I was through Ryan’s act of love, you suddenly realize the eternal significance of these precious years. Then, no other task on earth seems quite as important or meaningful as raising and training and guiding him through his developmental experiences.
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(Written by Shirley Dobson, wife of James Dobson
the founder of Focus on the Family)