Mama's Love

I have been tremendously blessed by the mothers in my life. There were several wonderful women who were 2nd mom's to me that I still care for very much. These women were mother's of my friends growing up & were willing to love on me and include me in their families-Ingrid Hinman, Georgina Fox, and Doris Godbey are still close to my heart.

There are four specific women who are more intimately intertwined in my life: my mother-in-law Nancy, my grandmother Margaret, my own mother Joyce, and my wife Dana.

My mother-in-law is an incredible woman. She is tough, smart, shrewd, generous, kind, protective, and loving. She has made me a part of their family from the time I first started dating her daughter. I respect her and appreciate her passion and wisdom more than she knows.

My grandmother has been gone from us for 15 years now, but I still have many great memories of her loving laugh and her continual kindness to us. Her marriage to my grandfather is a model that my wife & I strive to live up to. She was a persevering, kind-hearted example of loving family.

My mother is a kind-hearted & loving woman. She has battled adversity and poor choices, and has worked hard to improve for the sake of her family. She loves her children very much & continues to pray for each of us daily. I never doubt that she is proud of me and has my back. She would be here in an instant if I called and said I needed her. She is a model of perseverance and endurance and her sweet (and often crying) heart is a reminder of her love for us all.

My wife certainly doesn't count as my mother, but it has been a tremendous joy to parent our three gifts from God with her. She gives her best to them each day and understands how God has positioned her to love and teach them. She is an excellent mother striving to do her very best when it's not easy as a pastor's wife & stay at home mom.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you. Thanks for your sacrificial and giving love-it continues to make an impact that is greater than you know.