“As a child I was a tomboy and witnessed how difficult it was to be a mother because my mother was in ill health throughout my childhood. The normal daily tasks of being a mother and managing a household while coping with a problematic husband made life very challenging for her. I wanted something different for my life. The traditional role of a woman was not appealing to me. I rejected the idea of having children and serving my family. Over the years however, and following several crises and a failed marriage, I started searching for God and wanting to know what life was all about. I saw my brokenness and His offer of a new start through faith in Jesus Christ. I accepted the offer and began to study the Bible. I realized I didn’t know myself. I always had male friends and didn’t seem to relate to most women. I started to attend a weekly small group of women at my church. This was the beginning of wonderful life-long friendships with women and an understanding of how God made me as a woman. - Debi
How do you know your mom loves you?
“My mom loves me faithfully. I am a disabled adult and still need her care and she gives it unquestioningly. She does small things like making sure I have enough to drink and stepping in to to finish making a meal when I become too weak to do it. She is my advocate in the face of medical, occupational, and routine challenges. She has never not loved me, though I have constantly struggled to love myself. Her love is in the cups of tea she makes me, in her willingness to listen to me as verbally process, in welcoming in my friends, in her countless hours of prayer, in her celebrating my accomplishments, in her wise counsel, in her willingness to confront my errors, her patience, and her unflinching ability to love me at my worst.
My mum is strong, loving, consistent, God-seeking, championing, outgoing, wise, and relentlessly cheerful. She has become mother to the nations. I’m her only biological child but we’ve always had kids and adults in our home to be loved on. Sometimes they would be here over lunch and sometimes they would be here a year. She is a woman of light and love after Christ’s heart. She wears her heart on her sleeve not as a vulnerability, but as a strength. She loves God, my father, and myself so consistently and thoroughly.
-Katie
