This may sound a little odd but when I wake to care for my children in the middle of the night I say a prayer for their future Mothers-in-Law.
Here’s why.
Those babies we care for day after day are going to be just fine. Their needs are met, their cups are full, and they dance through their day care-free and wide-eyed. But I see YOU Mama. You are spread thin. You worry about the future. You desperately bend and expand to provide the best love-filled life for your family. You work hard and hustle every waking hour at an, often time, thankless job.
Any why?
To build the most fruitful foundation for your children. To enrich and fill their hearts and souls with most comforting security of your unwavering love. You love until it hurts. And that love that you give your children will carry them through their entire lives. It will be the highest standard they use in all their relationships. And that is why I pray for you.
I know it is not easy to love with such vulnerability. But years from now if our children fall in love, your child will be the one mine turns to with their heart exposed. Your child will be the one mine turns to when their heart is bursting with joy. Your child will be the one who mine turns to in their darkest hour. The love that you show your child now may be the love that my child will lean into and fall back on.
And I pray and hope that in all those instances, my child is met by your child with love, the same love that you modeled for them. So I pray for you, Mama. Because with love, you are building something bigger than yourself. As you kiss boo-boos, wipe tears, and victory dance so lovingly, you are building something beautiful.