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Part 3 Series: Living In The Empty Nest
Grace & Aging - Tan headshot
Debbie Henry
May 8, 2021

The is the third and final in a series Once A Mother, Always A Mother.


01869DAA B60C 4798 B7B3 7F0542EA8F5C - 2024The Empty Nest

It seems that every year, Mother’s Day takes on a different meaning for me.  I remember the first year, after my Mother died.  That was the year I cried all day.  Then there was the year when both of my children were away at school and it was the first Mother’s Day I had ever spent without either of them.  I felt so sorry for myself (I know stupid).  But, if you are a Mother, you have experienced it. FAST FORWARD A few years.

Now, I am a bit more settled with being an empty nester and am no longer feeling so sorry for myself.  Do not get me wrong, I am a mom and I LOVE it when I get the opportunity to be with my adult children.

I look around and I see young mothers who have absolutely no idea how quickly their children will grow.  These are the Mother’s that will be surrounded by their children on Mother’s Day.

So, this year, I am thinking about and praying for the empty nest mothers. The ones who are experiencing, for the first time, not having your children with you on this day. I am hoping your adult children call or face time you…please God…but not textYoung Children

 

Dear Mothers, may you be blessed with sweet special memories and no regrets.  I know first hand, this is a process.  As you look around your home, where once your children’s stuff cluttered the counters and their voices penetrated the air, may you know that you did well…not perfect, for there is no such thing…but well.  If your home feels especially empty today, may the Lord fill your heart instead with gratitude for the overflowing years when you wished for a moment of silence and a place of privacy and neither could be found.  Enjoy the quiet.  Refuse to see it as a loss and instead redeem it as a reward granted to those who finish the course.  And isn’t that what we have done?

D6372745 C96C 4889 9E23 5EB5EF62A1A2 - 2024May you feel God’s pleasure as you reflect on each child you have taught to fly, and may you trust that they are protected on their journey.  You have mothered my friend.   It was not easy…and in some ways it’s never over.  But God bless you for all the tears you shed, the story books you read, the mouths you fed and the prayers you said.   Please realize you did the best you could.  As you look at the dinner table, with a few less place settings, may you remember the laughter and conversations that have been shared when gathered. May you feel good about your accomplishment and may you make peace with your regrets and go forward and have none.Adult Children

We all wanted to raise the perfect children.  We all wanted them to do what WE thought was best.  But, what we want, more than anything is to have a healthy relationship with them. My prayer is that you will get to experience this gift and that you will see this Mother’s Day as beginning a new chapter for you in your journey as an empty nester.  As empty nesters, we will always have that place in our hearts that we keep protected, you know, the part that holds the memories of when we first became a Mother.

Ok, it’s not the type of Mother’s Day we ever thought would come this quickly. But, it is here.  Cherish your memories.

Happy Mother’s Day my friends.

(Sections of this blog were taken from an unknown source)

 

 

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