5.11.2010

My 1st Mother's Day

Technically, I say last year was my first Mother's Day. I was a mom, my baby was just in Ethiopia waiting for me to come pick him up. It's so strange that at this time last year, all I had of Mekonen were pictures and one video clip. I stared at those pictures all day and watched the video numerous times a day. Now, he's here in person! Sometimes I just look at him and think to myself, "Wow. We really did it. He's here. He's ours. I can't believe it. This is my son. He's mine."

My heart is so full of love for this little boy that I feel like it might burst at any moment. No one, not anyone, can tell me you love biological children more than adopted children. It simply is not true. I am so in love with this boy and what he has done to my life that I cannot even put words to it.


This Mother's Day, I was greeted in the early morning by a sweet little boy in his diaper carrying a card that he and Daddy made together. It said, "10 Ways Mommy Loves Me" and Mekonen colored it himself. :) 

The sweet card from Daddy and Mekonen.
 Ways Mommy Loves Me
10. She gives me yummy food.
9. She changes my diapers. 
8. She corrects me when I disobey.
7. She trains me in righteousness.
6. She reads to me everyday. 
5. She snuggles with me constantly.
4. She prays for me all the time. 
3. She reads her Bible in front of me.
2. She loves my Daddy.
1. She loves Jesus.

I am most thankful this Mother's Day for the gift of being a stay-at-home mom. Nothing has been a greater blessing in my life! We are called to train our children in the way they should go, to teach them to fear the Lord, to obey His instructions, to recognize their blessings, and to worship Him only. I get to spend my whole day doing just that. No, I may not get to do all the hobbies I want to do, I may not get to advance a career in quite the same way I could if I didn't have a child, and I might not get as many moments to myself as I once had. But this time, this season of life, is such a short one, and I am committed to making it count... to raise up our son to love Jesus and serve Him in whatever way God has gifted him. I can't think of anything better!

I am thankful this Mother's Day (as I will be every Mother's Day) for Mekonen's birth mom. To protect Mekonen's privacy and story, I will refer to her here as Enat which is the Amharic word for mother. We have talked over a few ideas of how to best celebrate Mekonen's birth mom and have not decided on one yet to make a tradition. It's hard... nothing seems quite fitting when this woman gave us the precious gift of our first son. For now, here is part of a letter I wrote on Mother's Day. 

Dear Enat,
It is with mixed emotions that I celebrate this first Mother’s day with my son, the child you gave the gift of life. My heart is linked with yours forever and I wonder today what yours is feeling. We pray for you and think of you often and know in our hearts that God has his hand upon you. We speak of you tenderly in our home and often express how thankful we are for you. We will always hold you in a place of honor in our son’s life and be sure to teach him diligently about the story he will call his own. 
We will honor you by giving Mekonen the best gift we can... the love and knowledge of our Savior Jesus. May he walk in God's truth and love him all the days of his life... 



2 comments:

Julie said...

Amen. Love to the mommies and the enats!

Messages from Guatemala said...

OK, so I cried reading the letter you wrote to Mekonen's birthmom! So great!