Hallmark Mothering

Folks gotta love Hallmark, they really do. Hallmark makes a way for us to tell each other about subjects hard to express every day, like love and respect and commitment. I am grateful for them on days like this, when pink envelopes lie on my morning countertop, bearing sweet inscriptions and promising shy, otherwise unspoken sentiments.

Hallmark, unintentionally, also reminds me of shortcomings. I am human and easily slide into mothering errors, too often falling short of the loving mother cards describe. I have lost patience, judged too quickly, forgotten, ignored, and abandoned. Somehow, through it all, though, my sons and my fine forgiving husband love me back. Just like You, my sweet Father in heaven.

My own mother fell short, too, and probably hers, and down through the generations, ad infinitim. Mothers are as much examples of our fallen human condition as anyone else, but we do not surprise You. You brought us into the world as children so that we could understand the sweetness of simple, trusting love. Later, you allow us to mother and father so that we can understand Your own love for us. Here, in knowing You, lies the real grace not only in today, but in every day.

Thank you, boys, for your generous loving. Thank you, Hallmark, for helping them express it. Above all, thank you, Savior and Lord, for gifting men with the ability to love, to forgive, and to hope.