SEASONS - MOTHER'S DAY 2016

(Writting and photography by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

There is nothing more exciting or rewarding than being a mother, except maybe being a grandmother.  That is my latest and greatest blessing!   A Mother's Day present coming my way in October will be the gift of yet a third grandchild!  I could not be more excited or grateful to God.   The thought of how wonderful the grandmother experience has been so far consumes my soul!  I love being a grandmother, and I’ve loved being a mother.  

My four children did not come to me naturally, I married their Dad when they were very young and they were raised in my home for most of their lives.  They still saw and loved their birth-mother on a regular basis, and I never discouraged them from loving her.  These special children that God gave me so unexpectedly have enough love in their hearts for both of us.  I know that is very rare these days, but I can only explain it by saying it is yet another miracle that God has worked out in my life.  I have learned over and over again how God takes hard circumstances and turns them into blessings.  

 In God's Kingdom no one is "less" and everyone is "more."  There is always enough love to go around, because God IS love.  With Him in our midst, there is nothing that we cannot work through, and most of the time when we do our blessings are even greater and more appreciated.  This is my family, and I wouldn't change or rearrange anything.

I am finally in that place of realizing that my kids are grown and raised and living well rounded God-centered lives.  Nothing could make me happier!  There is nothing more comforting than knowing that peaceful feeling of “mission accomplished.”   There is great peace in realizing that you have raised up children who have become productive, life-giving adults who are responsible and loving and kind and who are now out there every day making a difference in the world, each one contributing in their own special way.

These are my thoughts as we near Mother’s Day this year.  God keeps pointing out to me that all the years of struggle and hard work of raising four beautiful children is beginning to bear fruit.  It is very eye-opening, after watching struggle after struggle as they grew wings and began to leave the nest.  On Mother’s Day I will get all kinds of gifts and tokens of thanks for this, but the greatest gift of all is just knowing that they are living their lives out, each of them in such a beautiful, unique and individual way.  I have never felt more blessed or honored.  It has been my privilege to participate in changing the world through watching them grow and for this I am forever thankful.

Now that they are grown I cherish so many things that have happened along the way,  Since it is Mother’s Day and the whole world is pondering the things of motherhood in general, I bring out my treasured memories and lay them at the feet of Jesus and whisper “Thank You.” 

Thank you for the one who has worked very hard to overcome addictions, who is working on becoming more responsible late in life.  Thank you that he finally gets it!  He has not lost his heart or his sense of humor along the way in spite of  having to recover from some huge mistakes.  He has learned some things the hard way, but he has learned.   Thank you that he has been a fighter in hard circumstances, and thank you that he has developed an uncanny ability for loving the unlovable, the poor, the downcast, the ones that no one else will love.  Thank you that he sees through the superficial and gets to the real part of people, who they are and what they are all about and appreciates them for what God made them to be.  Thank you for his gift to encourage and inspire people.  I am constantly surprised and amazed at this. Thank you that he sees the good in everyone and is finally beginning to find his own joy in the midst of it.  Thank you for helping him to be brave enough to face his problems seek the proper help to work through them.    

Thank you for the one who has worked so hard to develop a career where she helps others to overcome their handicaps.  Thank you for the joy she finds in working with children as well as adults who are struggling every day.  Thank you for the way that she loves life and squeezes every ounce of happiness out of it every day.  Thank you that she has been patient and willing to wait for the things that she knows are right and just for her.  Her choice in a husband has been exceptional, and the way she loves his seven year old son melts my heart.  The new baby on the way in October will only make that joy overflow more!  She is an awesome mother and a loving wife.  

Thank you God, for that smile that is always there, never letting the little things drag her down, only moving forward in love, even if it is only an inch at a time.  How wonderful to see her surrounded by loving and caring friends for a life time.  Is this the same teary eyed little girl that looked up at me and said “I’ll never make any new friends?”  How funny to think that she ever thought such a thing; just look at her now!  How sweet to see her finding the love she has waited for many years to find.  How perfectly open to God she has been in letting Him form her patterns for life.  Sometimes it takes my breath away when I look at all of it coming together for her.

Thank you for the one who is always positive, never negative, always bringing grace and love into every little moment and creating magic with her charm and genuine beauty.  She has that uncanny gift of making magic out of nothing at all!  She comes bearing simple little gifts that delight the soul and make you smile on a rainy day.  Her smile can stop the world!  She is so eclectic, off-the-wall creative and a genuinely true artist of life.  She is such a giving loving aunt to her sister's children.   She thinks of all the little things that make life special.  She knows just when to come and go in order to lift your spirits and make you laugh.  She never forgets her promises.  I have watched her struggle, make mistakes, recover with grace, face hard situations and come out rejoicing! The smile and the love never leave her face and she has always kept her genuine heart of concern for others.  I doubt she has ever made an enemy in her life.   She is always looking outward instead of inward and she shines with genuine beauty.  She has wisely followed her heart and is very busy pursuing her dreams.  I am thankful to be in her life and to see the effect she has on everyone around her every day. 

I am thankful for the sweet and beautiful level-headed one.  What would I do without her constant inspiration?  If you could get inside that level head you would be amazed at how creative her thoughts are.  The first one to make me such a proud grandmother and the one who brings so much peace and calm and beauty into every life she touches.  I am amazed at her ability to make good choices in tough life situations.  I am pleased at the way she honors her husband and keeps her household.  She has an uncanny way of making plans and seeing them through.  I am amazed at how she works a hard demanding job and still puts her family first.    Her zest for music and travel are contagious, and her sense of balance is a true blessing.  She can draw and paint like Rembrandt, maybe even better.  Her natural beauty is amazing. She lights up every room she enters.  She brings the beauty and grace of life into every situation she encounters.  She has a quirky sense of humor that sneaks up on you when you least expect it.  She is blessed with the finest husband in the land, and she loves him with her whole heart.  What an awesome mother she is to my beautiful granddaughter! 

With all of these special personalities in these gift-from-God adult children, plus two awesome son-in-laws and two and one-half amazing grandchildren, there is never a dull moment in this family.  Every day in my life is Mother’s Day .  I have a bucket full of the memories and we are making new ones every day.  I will always cherish the memories of them growing up in our home and I look forward to making a million more both in our home and in their homes.

 They have all grown up so smart, beautiful and successful; each in their own way, I still cherish all of these blessings that come with invisible price tags, these blessings that can’t be measured in monetary value, and now I am rejoicing with the opportunity to do all the fun parts over with my grand children.

Mother’s Day has never felt more fulfilling or refreshing.  

At this point I have realized it was nothing I did at all to have these wonderful people in my family, but simply God weaving his wonder across our lives and putting all the pieces of the puzzle together at just the right moments.  For this I am eternally grateful.

No need for gifts kids - just keep being the lovable people you are!