A Mother Heart

No one has influenced my creativity more than my mother. She doesn't think of herself as highly creative, but she lives life in a way that makes things happen. She doesn't wait for things to happen, she just goes and does. If there wasn't something to do, she found something, whether it be work or an outing or a craft project or a visit to someone who needed a visit - and that is what makes a creative life. You take what is there, and then you create what you want out of it. She sews and quilts as her creative passions, but really her best creativity comes from her heart. She grew up Canadian, but instilled in us a great appreciation for our American heritage and a love for the great people who shaped this country. She taught and lived the values that make up a good life - hard work, compassion for others, provident living, and so many more. She has a faith in God that is unquestioned. She gives more than she takes. She is smart, and capable, and organized, and fun-loving. She is the one who bought me a scrapbook in 1991 and told me I needed to make "one" of these to remember my children. . . . Wow look where that has taken me! She is the one who signed me up for piano lessons because I was picking out songs on my grandma's piano at age 4. She taught me the importance of holding old ladies hands when I visit and to love my enemies as an eleven-year old. She encouraged me to always participate, and not be afraid to contribute, especially when I felt naturally hesitant. She has always listened to me and believed in me and helped to shape me more than any other person. Her example of motherhood has been the foundation for all of my mothering. She taught me to embrace my creativity and appreciate my own uniqueness, then use that to mother the children the Lord entrusted to me. And mothering my children has brought more joy to my life than I ever could have imagined. Their sweet love for me has shaped my heart in dimensions I couldn't have known, but am so grateful for. I thank the Lord for the gift to be a mother every day, and to have the mother I have. Of all my names, Mom is my favorite.