Author: Tim Challies

I can’t even tell you how brave she has been, how resilient, and how determined. The Lord alone knows all the ways she has had to exercise her faith and submit her will to his. But she has. She has, and it has been a blessing and an honor to behold. We come again to Mother’s Day, the twenty-fifth since Nick was born and she became a mother, the fifth since Nick was taken and she was bereaved. Mother’s Day changed in that moment. It is still a day of joy, of course, but that joy is now mixed with sorrow. It is a day of gratitude for the blessing of being a mother not just once but three times over, but it is also a day of lament that one has been called away. Now only two can be there to hand her a card, to give her a hug, and to wish her a happy day. One is always conspicuous by his absence. But she doesn’t allow herself to sink into her grief and become incapacitated by it. She has just one life to live and only the present moment to live it. She has determined she will not allow the sorrow of the sorrows to overwhelm the joy of the joys. That is harder to do on Mother’s Day than most of the other days of the year. Yet I know she doesn’t want anyone to feel bad for her. I know she will refuse any inner temptation to sink into self-pity.…See AlsoThe Futility of MotherhoodA La Carte (December 9)A Faithful Mother’s Love