Dear Mom

Hey Siestas! Is there anything you want to say to your mom today? Or anything you wish you could say? She may already be Home with the Lord like mine is but sometimes writing out what is on your heart, even if the person never reads it, can be healing. On the other hand, she may be very much alive but face-to-face is just too awkward to say what you wish you could say. The blog is yours today for “Dear Mom” letters. Just keep them to one reasonable size paragraph . It may take a few hours for you to be able to see your comment so don’t be alarmed. I’ll be at church then at lunch today but I’ll be very attentive when I’m home. I love you guys. Happy Mother’s Day to you Moms!

PS. It’s been several hours since this post went up and you guys have me just about bawling my head off. Some so sweet and some so painful. The Mother-Daughter thing can be very complicated. I’m like many of you. I could write a letter that goes something like, “Dear Mom, I love you and miss you so much. You were my best friend and favorite person for such a long time. So hilarious. Such a great story teller. Honestly, the world’s best grandmother. I wanted your favor more than anybody else’s on this earth. I would have done almost anything to get it and keep it. I wish so much things would have been different those last couple of years but we will make up for lost time when I see you. What a day of rejoicing that will be! No more sorrow. No more fear. I love you forever, Beth.”

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200 Responses to “Dear Mom”

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Comments:

  1. 101
    Anonymous says:

    To hubby’s mom who I never met. I wish you were here to see what your son has helped create. You died when you were a mere 37 years young. You missed out on your 3 children growing and getting through those tough teenage years and emerging as responsible, loving parents themselves. I was lucky enough to marry one of them. I wish you could have seen your eldest child’s face (the one I married) on his wedding day. I believe all the feelings of losing you came flooding that day. Then the arrival of each of our 3 children. You truly missed out on so much. I know you were watching from above and surely saw the joy of these special days. I wish I could have met you and knew you through the years. We miss you and wish you were here..xx

    My mom left to be with the Lord 7 years ago. Not being able to say goodbye and thank her for everything was the hardest thing for me. There were many times when I was with her that it was as if she knew she would be leaving us soon. She always had tears in her eyes when she said goodbye and saying “I love you” was a common phrase each and every time we talked. I remember the last time I was with her, I visited her and dad at their summer trailer. My parents had just bought a new car and not having a brand spanking new one before, she was beeming showing it to me. When we took a drive to get groceries, she wanted me to drive. She said she wanted to just look at me and see the joy in my eyes as I drove this new car. She stared at me quite a bit on that trip. She said she loved me and just needed to spend time watching….There were many clues that she was getting ready to leave, but why I didn’t take more notice to them still makes me mad…Could we have done something. She was 66 when she suffered from a massive brain hemorrage……She had had mini strokes over a period of 2 years and ignored the signs. She didn’t think she needed to go to the hospital..and hid alot of what was happening to her..So many if’s, but God knew all along the plan. I have grown so much over the last 7 years. Every corner I turn or situation I am in I see you. I turn to you still for help and guidance. I wish you were here to chat and laugh over my current “menopausal state”. Mom – I love you and miss you so much xxoo …

    Children and mothers never truly part, bound in the beating of each other’s heart.
    ~Charlotte Gray

    Sorry this is so long ~ So hard to shorten my thoughts today ~ so many emotions ~

    Patricia

  2. 102
    Gina says:

    Dear Mom,
    God called you Home 5 years ago today. They say that time heals all wounds; that loss gets easier over time – I have yet to be convinced. I miss you every bit as much today – perhaps even more. Our family had so many difficulties, challenges,and struggles – of which you always bore the brunt – and I always thought that I understood and appreciated that. I realize now that I had NO idea. I wish I had shown you more love, respect and appreciation – you certainly deserved it. Thank you for all that you did, all that you gave, all that you sacrificed, and all that you were. I pray that I am half the mother to my daughter as you were to the six of us! Thank You God for my incredible mother – and for the assurance that I will see her again. I love you Mom.

  3. 103
    Anonymous says:

    Dear Mom, I love you so very much! I just wish desperately that we could talk about Jesus. He is everything so sometimes I feel like becasue we can’t share that, we miss out on everything! He makes life worth living and I am so scared you are going to miss out not only on this life but the life to come………..

  4. 104
    matiaskardia says:

    *Today in Sunday School we were prompted by our teacher to go around the room and say one thing that our mommas passed on to us that helps us in our walk with Christ.*

    Dear Mom,
    Thank your for teaching me to be an eternal optimist! Even when I know I only have 10 minutes to get to church and I have 15 minutes left of hair and make-up, I just KNOW that I’ll make it on time! HA! The Lord has graciously allowed me to be available for minitry opportunities just because I have had the predisposition for optimism straight from you. I can’t thank you enough for helping me learn early on to be focused on Christ, not on my circumstances. Now this eternal optimist has turned that optimism to a certainty when it comes to a life lived for Christ and an eternity in the presence of my Creator and my Savior!

    Happy Mother’s Day!

    Love you bunches,
    Matia

  5. 105
    Shelia says:

    Mom, I am so sorry your last years were so miserable, and that affected how you looked at life and reacted. I know your life was so hard and you tried to control things out of fear. In going through all your things the past two and a half months, so many memories have been triggered and I remember how talented, warm, funny, and understanding you could be when you were younger and we were very little. Losing Daddy so young sure changed things. I only wish you could have known a deeper relationship with Christ while you were here on the planet. I am sorry it bothered you so much that I was so different than you, and that my thoughts and reactions were different than yours. But beneath it all, I know you always loved me. And my kids know you loved them too. It thrills me to imagine you being reunited with Daddy, and your parents in Heaven.
    I love you, and I am glad that God gave you to be my mom.

  6. 106
    Paulette Carson says:

    Dear Mom,
    I miss you bunches and bunches, even though it was only a short three months ago that you were birthed into eternity. Tears still come at the most unexpected times as I think of so many details of our times together. As I received my Mother’s Day gifts from your darlin’ Special grandson, I wanted to send a gift to you. Here’s a kiss blown heavenward with total expectation that you are watching and will receive the feather light touch on your cheek. I’m hugging you in my heart. Will see you again. Thank you, Sweet Jesus. I love you both.

  7. 107
    Anonymous says:

    Thanks be to God, I was actually able to spend the day with my Mom today.

    And, although it was a cool day here [low to mid 50’s], we were out at the campground this weekend; but in a very nice 5th wheel trailer, mind you. Hehe

    Last night, I had to be very sneaky and get her Mother’s Day cards ready, to be placed on the table for her to see this morning. I am not much of a poet, but I am very thankful for you, Mom !

    I decided to buy her a card that I think my dear Daddy would have chosen for her if he had been able to do so, but he spent the day with Jesus in Heaven for his 2nd Mother’s Day. But, my parents were So close and showed God’s Love to all of us 4 daughters throughout their lives. And, I couldn’t help but give her a “card that flew down from Heaven on Angel’s wings from my Daddy” today. He passed away in March 2008… But, I know that he will always love her and the rest of us, as well. And, that one day, when the Lord so chooses, we will see one another again, up in Heaven.

    Mom, I thank you for teaching me how to persevere, even through the worst of times [for example, these past 2 years, being without much work-except sub teaching; and going through our own personal “grief processes” over Dad’s passing last year]. And, I thank you for allowing me to stay here with you, even at 41 years old, after having been out of the house for 8-1/2 years, living in Houston, TX.

    I thank you for learning how to encourage me in my “Job Search”, which is something that I know is very difficult for you to do. Yet, I think that you may have finally realized that I do not wish to have “just any old job”, but the “job that God wants for me to have”… By God’s will, grace, and love, I know that He will show me…

    I thank you for getting out there and continuing to work as an RN, Nurse Case Manager for the 2 Home Health Agencies that you work for, even though you have Pulmonary Fibrosis and have to drag your oxygen with you where-ever you go to. I thank you for the laughs and giggles that we share together when we trip or nearly trip over your 50 foot oxygen cording that goes through the house and camper. And, it is so obvious that you love your work as a nurse, as next year, you will hit that goal of yours, having worked for FIFTY whole years in nursing !

    And, not to mention that you have had to fight this lung disease at your 70 years of age, and still want to “stay as active as you possibly can.”

    I love you, Mom !
    ———————————-

    Dear Miss Beth,

    Whether you knew it or not, 6 months before, and for a year or so after my sweet salvation in Christ Jesus in April 2003, I saw you as my “spiritual mother”, and actually, I still do. Thank you for loving me like Jesus would during that last year that I lived in Houston and went to your SS class, and “our church” for that time period. I think that you could almost “tell somehow” when something REALLY AWFUL was going on in my life, and I did not yet quite know how to lean on my Lord and Savior, Jesus; and so I came to you for prayer. Thank you So much for all of those special prayers~

    And, know that I pray for you and your family regularly… I would send you some of our beautiful purple Lilacs that we just began to blossom in our back yard, but, I’m afraid that they would wilt before they arrived on LPM’s doorsteps. [Just know that they are one of the most fragrant flowers that God chose to create for us to enjoy up here in the northern states, as a gift to us for enduring such freezing winters, maybe ???] Well, here is a link to a website where you can at least see what lilacs look like: http://www.flickr.com/photos/uavery/153658194/

    Then again, you may have seen them when you were a young “tot”, having been born in Green Bay, Wis. But, I live nearly 200 miles south of there. Anyhow, these gorgeous flowering trees only last for approximately 2-3 weeks, and then go dormant until the following spring. So, it makes them all the more special for us here.

    Happy Mother’s Day to all ! And, if you are not a mother, like myself, then it is “Happy Siesta’s Day”, don’t you think ???

    Love, in Christ Jesus,

    Jennifer O.
    Janesville, Wisconsin

  8. 108
    Kathryn @ Expectant Hearts says:

    Dear Mom, thank you for your help. Thank you for coming when we needed you so we could be with Seth. Thank you for talking about Seth with me this very afternoon. I know it must hurt your heart too, especially to see your daughter hurt, but I SO appreciate your keeping his memory alive with me!
    I love you!

  9. 109
    Kara says:

    Dear Mom,
    I really love you. I love the way you smother my children with your love. The way you come over for date night just so Steve and I can go out. I love that you love me. I know we argue at times but mostly when we do it’s because I see things in you that I see in me that I wish with all my heart would change. I am working so hard with God to change the way I fear so quickly and how anxious I can be at times. I know you pray for me in these issues and I thank you.

    Happy Mothers Day Mami,

    Kara

  10. 110
    Barbara says:

    To my Dearest Mother…

    I love you beyond measure, and you left us so long ago., but you taught me about Jesus, and I am forever grateful for your unconditional love. One day we will be together in Heaven, dear Mother.
    Barbara

  11. 111
    Myra Adams says:

    I love you – MoM!
    The distance between us keeps us connected by phone and I’m so glad we talked today. Happy Mother’s Day to all bloggers!

  12. 112
    Anonymous says:

    Dear Mom,

    I wish you could understand how deeply it hurts me when you “correct” me so frequently. Instead of being the one person on this earth who encourages me, I sometimes dread talking to you because I know you will tell me (in usually some passive agressive way) that what I am doing is wrong. The women in our family have issues, and I hope I don’t pass them down to Sophie. God help me. I love you, Mom.

  13. 113
    Aunt Rhody says:

    Dear Mother,
    I’m so thankful to still have you with me. I hate that you are in pain so many days and pray daily that God will heal you. Thank you for your years of being a good Mom. Thank you for the pedicure you gave me this year. Thanks most of all for teaching me about Jesus and His love for me and for giving me back to the Lord when you didn’t want to. I love you.

  14. 114
    Lynette says:

    Dear Mommy,
    This may have been our last mother’s day the cancer is agressive. I’m sorry I couldn’t spend it with you but I’ll see you for treatment on Tuesday. I know that you don’t understand that my family comes first and sometimes taking care of an autistic child and his two siblings is more than pretty words of how God can get me through; sometimes it’s really hard work that you don’t understand. I have to decide daily whether to please God by tending to my family or men by doing other things that people outside of my family request of me. I’ve felt the void of your approval all of my life but God is a restorer and I pray he restores something great in our relationship before you go home to be with Him. I do love you and thank you for being my mother.

  15. 115
    Shellie Paparazzo says:

    Dear Mom,
    I know I just talked to you a few minutes ago, but even at church this morning I couldn’t help thinking about the fact that you for the second year no longer have a mother to call and wish a Happy Mother’s Day, too. I didn’t even think about it last year. How hard that first Mother’s Day without a mother to call and talk to on the phone must have been. Although, if you’re like me, you probably get so caught up with what your own children are doing for you that you almost forget your own mother. You’ve never been as selfish as I am, though, so I doubt it. You were probably thinking about your mother more than I ever thought about you. You probably did when she was alive, too. I know you too well. You’re always thinking about other people, unlike me. I wish more of that had rubbed off on me. Maybe it will more as I get older. Here’s hoping.

    With all my love,
    Shellie

  16. 116
    TN Girl says:

    Mom,

    There are no words to tell you how much I miss you. Even 13 years later, you are still haunting me just like you teased me you always would! I long for your Godly advice. I wish you would have told me all that you suffered for us, and I wish I could know why you chose to suffer it. And would you have changed any of it? I’m so glad there are no more tears for you and no more sorrow.

    I’m sorry for not being a better daughter.

    I wish I was more like you..

    I love you and I’m proud to have been your daughter…hug my babies for me.

    Pam

  17. 117
    Anonymous says:

    Dear Mama,
    It has been a little over 9 months since you have been gone. My first Mother’s Day without you, they say the first ones are always the hardest, but I can’t imagine the second ones will be much easier. I miss calling you every day to tell you all the details that you really cared about and no one else really does. Thank you for your unconditional love, for being my biggest supporter, number one fan and cheerleader, counselor, and my best friend. I wish you hadn’t had to suffer so the last 12 years of your life and hate that the burden of your illness wore so heavily on me. I’m really sorry. I miss you so, but heaven is sweeter with you there.
    I love you for always.
    Nisey

  18. 118
    Hearingw/myheart says:

    My Precious Mom!

    A short paragraph cannot express the deep love that I have for you, but here is a glimpse of it. When you delivered me and Beth, you didn’t know if I was going to make it through the night. I survived, and at age of 4 you discovered that I am deaf. It was so difficult for you and Dad to swallow at the time, but through perseverance and belief in me, you never ceased to help the Lord to mold me into the woman I am today. Through your eyes, I saw Christ. You simply saw gifts and no limitations. I am the woman that I am today because of your consistency and relationship with the Lord. The Lord was your strength as He is today. Through all the heartaches and funny mishaps that came along with growing up, you were always there! Mom, you are my example of what a Christian mother is, and I cherish everything about you! I love you more than you will ever know!
    Lea-Lea
    Psalm 139:14-16

  19. 119
    Sally says:

    Dear Mom
    I know that God knows how much I loved you and also how the world and Satan did a horrible thing to our relationship. I have such peace my decision to get away from your presence but such sadness at a relationship lost that I so wanted for 40 years. My faith reassures me that all will be made clear in the eternity but today I miss being able to say “Happy Mothers Day” and it being received with the heart and motivation in which it is given. I praise God for any and everything you did for me. Love SAl

  20. 120
    Chanda Ann Locklear says:

    Dear Mom,
    I was always your little girl, your right arm, didn’t think I would have ever ever survived without you, but God proved me wrong. Cancer of all things, but I am thankful that I was yours and you were mine. I loved that you reminded me that I was loaned to you and our time was precious. Well, I am glad He loaned you to me. I know your time with Him is so wonderful and I am looking forward to my time with Him and you. Hold on I’m coming, God is soooo amazingly good……..

  21. 121
    Shelly E. says:

    To my sweet Mom,

    You have given me the greatest gift ever by introducing Jesus to me from infancy and raising me up to be a Godly woman. Four grown children who all love and serve the Lord, as well as still fight for who gets the most time with you, makes you a success in my book. Thank you, also, for being an amazing grandmother and for giving of yourself and your time so unselfishly. Dad loved you so and I know how anxious you are for that day to be reunited with him when you go Home but, for now, please never forget that you are cherished and respected! Happy Mother’s Day! I love you!

    Beth, you are an inspiration to me. I have learned so much from doing your Bible studies these past 10-plus years. I hope you know just what a gift you’ve been in my life as well as countless other’s. Thank you for sharing yourself and your family with all of us. And thank you for always keeping Jesus out in front and giving Him all the glory. I esteem you highly! I love you.

    – Shelly
    Portland, OR

  22. 122
    Tanya Manus says:

    My mom is a cancer survivor. I am so grateful to have another Mother’s Day to spend with her, going to brunch, buying her a corsage. I am so glad she’s still here.

  23. 123
    Anonymous says:

    Dear Mother,

    You have been gone 2 years….How I miss you. I so wish that I could have felt your love. In fifty years, I never felt like you were proud of me and that affects my life everyday. I really did try.

  24. 124
    A Woman of Righteous Confidence says:

    Dear Mom,
    It’s been over five years since you left us for heaven. But, for some reason I’ve been missing you more than usual these past few weeks. Your loving presence influenced so many lives Mom. I don’t think you had any idea, but I’ll bet now you can see. You taught me love, patience, faithfulness, commitment and courage. Your love and commitment to Dad for over 62 years continues to inspire me. He misses you so – sometimes that alone is enough to bring me to tears. One day soon we will all be reunited again. I’ll introduce you to your Great-Grandaughter. We’ll laugh and sing and praise Jesus together. I love you Mom.

  25. 125
    Anonymous says:

    When I read this earlier today, I ignored it. I had more of a ‘mommy dearest’, than a mother. But the LORD reminded me how he has redeemed that role to me through others!

    Dear Spiritual Moms,
    How lovely to have someone to fill in the gaps that my mother left. How fortunate that I have had women to teach me what my own mother did not:
    compassion,
    value,
    forgiveness,
    laughter!
    How to be a woman in the Lord;
    a woman of prayer, of grace, and mercy.
    I grieve for what I did not have, I rejoice for how the LORD restored it to me.

  26. 126
    Melissa says:

    Dear Mom:
    Mother’s Day is over and I missed you today. I missed hearing your voice on the phone, your smile, your laughter, your hand holding mine, your hugs. Mom, I have 2 precious daughters, 1 you know and 1 you never got to meet. Oh, I miss your being Meme to them, the joy on your face when you were holding our oldest daughter. I see your smiling face in pictures and I know that you are healed now and with Jesus. It’s been almost 7 years.
    I love you Mom and you are always in my heart.

  27. 127
    Anonymous says:

    Dear Mom,
    I feel like this is the hardest Mother’s Day yet. I am worried about tomorrow and how everything will go with your stent being put in. Just Know that I love you and do not want to face life with out you! You have been such a blessing to me all these years. And I have a lot of respect for you!
    I love you

  28. 128
    Xena says:

    I’ve been reading these today and I’d like to request that we all pray for our sister whose note was published at 5:29 p.m. today. My prayer is that God would overwhelm her with His Love, now and forever more. That He would be more than enough in her heart for her mother.

  29. 129
    Anonymous says:

    Dear Mom,
    This was not the life you had planned. Life has not been the same since Dad announced he had an affair almost a decade ago after almost three decades of marriage. The life we had as a family has since been replaced with a life of hurt. The hurt you feel and the guilt of Dad for the hurt this caused. The outside of my life people look at the personal, material, and professional success that I have achieved and think I "have it all". But the words of the Bible in 1 Samuel 16:7 about Man looking at the outward appearance and God looking at the heart. God knows my heart & how all of these things overcompenate the loss that has been felt in the family and the longing that I feel to make our family "whole" again. How most days I could "give it all up" if our family could just start over prior to this happening.

  30. 130
    coffeeandbiblegirl says:

    Dear Mom,
    The sting of constant rejection won’t die. It is causing me to fall into the arms of my Savior ever more – you see, He promises not to leave me or forsake me. I pray for you every day, that you will hear His voice calling you. So much healing takes place in the safe arms of Jesus. You just have to have the courage to walk towards Him. My children are flourshing and I am humbled to be given the gift of motherhood. God’s plan is perfect and I have to believe that life without my mother will make sense to me one day.
    I am praying for your lost and wounded soul,
    Your daughter

  31. 131
    Anonymous says:

    Dear Mom,

    So much has happened in the 7 1/2 years since you went to be home with the Lord. I can’t tell you how grateful I am you accepted Christ just 2 short weeks before you passed. My heart breaks you were in church your entire life and never knew you could have a real, breathing relationship with him. I ended up going to the University of Oklahoma instead of SMU or TCU. It’s a long story I can’t wait to tell you about someday but just know it was the best place for me. On a mission trip my junior year I met my husband…we’ve been married 3 years. You would love him…the most gentle man…and he loves skor bars just like you 🙂 And the most special news of all…you have a grandaughter. She’s almost 3 months old and her middle name is after you, Caroline. You would have a fit over her. She looks just like me. And the most special news of all, the Lord brought her into this world on your birthday, Feb. 21st. Tears poured when I realized God had answers the cry ofmy heart and so many others. Oh how He loves His children!! You must be having a ball with Him. We still celebrate you every January 9th. Oh how I miss you so….there will be much rejoicing when I see you next. I love you, Jen

    P.S. I am so thankful you “made” me take piano lessons all those years…just like you said I would.

  32. 132
    Anonymous says:

    I am thankful to you Beth Moore for putting me on a journey of forgiving my mother. I watched one of your bible studies some time ago on Life Today and was very touched and convicted after the session where you talked about how you drove to the burial site our your parents, knelt down, wept and honored them as it rained on you.
    I am trying to get to that place, with the Lord’s help, while my own mother is still alive. It’s a struggle at times, but there is gradual progress. The light at the end of the tunnel is very dim, but I’m believing that the Lord will illuminate his grace and mercy down upon our relationship.
    I am so very thankful to the Lord for the spiritual mom whom he placed in my life a few years back. She is in the arms of Jesus now. Her wisdom impacted my life so profoundly. I praise the Lord for the short few years I spent with her laughing and praying. I would not be the mother and wife I am today without her spiritual imprints on my heart.

  33. 133
    Anonymous says:

    Like so many others, I’m just not sure what to say. I’m thankful for you and yet I wish there were more. I wish you a happy mother’s day because that’s what we do and we came by to check it off our list, but you did not want us there. Your new husband didn’t want his house to get dirty by a 4 year old and 5 year old boy and you didn’t stand up to him and say that your grandkids were important, not that we would expect you to. That’s not your way. It’s fun to show off the pictures of your kids and grandkids and tell everyone how sweet and cute they are, but it is quite a lot more to invest yourself in their lives.

    I’m sorry that you were raised so formally. That grandma never showed you the love that you needed, so that you could give the same to others. I’m sorry that you never figured out to give what you had never gotten yourself. I’m so thankful that I somehow figured out how to break the cycle and now worry that I might smother my boys and tell them I love them too much….. is that possible? I wouldn’t know. I have a huge hole of need of a mother’s love, but I am thankful for the egg casserole and the fruit, the cards and the pictures that you can share with your friends to tell them about your great mother’s day…. at least we have that.

  34. 134
    Anonymous says:

    Mom,

    I don’t know how to forgive you, but the Lord is doing a work in me. I’ve always felt like your counselor, rescuer, encourager when it should have been the opposite in our relationship. Maybe it was meant to be this way as God was preparing me to have wisdom and discernment at a young age to be there for others through their struggles, addictions and feelings of worthlessness. I don’t understand God’s plan for our relationship, but I know I need to forgive you and move on with a piece of me feeling abandoned. I know the Lord has indeed mended every area of my brokenness, but I still long to connect with you the way a mother and daughter should.

  35. 135
    Melinda says:

    Dear Mom,

    My goodness. As I read through these heart-wrenching “letters”, I’m struck afresh by how incredibly blessed I’ve been to have you as my mother. I’ve been one of those Christians with the “boring” testimonies, who was always sort of embarrassed to share it with others. There was no exciting conversion from a torrid life of sin – I was 10, after all, and not much was happening outside of the occasional gossip or lie. I had two parents who loved each other and me, a stable home, dinner with the family each night and church every time the doors opened.

    I’ve come to realize, now, that I have the testimony that everyone wishes they had and it’s largely due to you and the way you raised me. I thank God for you, Mom – this day and everyday.

    I love you,
    Melinda

    P.S. For your continued pursuit of Jesus, Beth, and your continued selflessness in sharing your journey, I’m thankful to God, too!

  36. 136
    jill says:

    It’s Monday and I just wanted to let you know that Mothers Day can be very hard for adult women with no children. I usually don’t give it any thought , but on Mothers day it hits you in the face. I love my church, as the sermon started we turned in our Bibles to 1 samual and started reading about Hannah and the tears started to flow. I couldnt read along any more and looked up and the girl playing the piano seated on stage saw me crying , I tried so hard not to let those tears flow, I was trying to breath deeply and deliberately and calm myself. I was so glad the rest of the congregation was emersed in the text , but the girl on the platform was trying not to look but my tears were chocking her up. I had no kleenex in my purse an wiped my nose on my shirt. The rest of the service is a blur and I could not keep from crying. There is a line to get out because our pastor shakes our hand and the girl caught up with me and put her arm around me and said ” that has happened to me so many times during a service” It was just the right thing to say.

  37. 137
    screamofcontinuousness says:

    Dear Mother,
    I do love you. You have done so much. You took up the reins where daddy left off. You were the bread winner. You were the Minister of Christian Education. I can’t go ANYWHERE in Atlanta without SOMEONE recognizing me “Oh, you are ANN’s Daughter” That’s been my title for my whole life. It still is. And I am proud of that.

    We’ve done so much together. Planned so many church camps and conferences. Launched a restaurant together. In all those years of working together I was the one person you said could read your mind. You always said that people could ask the same question of each of us on opposite sides of campus and we would give the same answer.

    We used to be so close. But now there is so much anger and misunderstanding and defensiveness.

    I don’t know how it happened. We always understood each other so well, but now I rely on my husband to communicate with you because we fight over the stupidest things. Things you used to be good at; organization, planning and structure. Maybe I just need to understand that you are getting old and things are changing.

    Maybe that’s the problem. I keep expecting you to always be the same consistent, competent, fantastically organized person I knew before. But you aren’t. You are aging. Mostly gracefully, I’ll admit, but in some ways not so much.

    So maybe I need to work harder at being understanding, and forgiving.

    I’ll try.

    Deirdre

    p.s. thank you Beth. I honestly don’t think I have ever gotten past the anger and really realized that my mother has changed and it’s not her fault. She can’t help being older. That sounds so obvious, but I just never saw it. I was always too bound up in the anger of the moment to take the step back that I needed to.
    So thanks for giving us this space. It really helped.

  38. 138
    Anonymous says:

    Dear Mom,

    I love you. I am so thankful that when you met the living Christ you could not refrain from sharing Him with your three children. We all three heard Him call because of your guidance. Thanks for taking us to church every Sunday…and being brave enough in obediance to leave your family’s church because they didn’t preach the Word. We were considered wierd but oh well…Praise God because of it. Thanks for stepping up and being the spiritual leader in our home when Dad refused the job and (so far) his Lord.
    I love that our relationship has grown in the Lord and though we are very different people we can brag on the Lord together. Amen!
    I pray someday soon you can attend a Beth Moore bible study. Last spring when I studied Daniel with her I received a revelation that my spiritual mentor was absent and I needed to step up into the role. I realized you were getting sucked down by your own problems ( breast cancer, heart disease, bad knees ,children too far away,unsaved husband). I saw your eyes were not on Jesus. I started to fear the depression you had when I was a child would creep back in …that Satan was trying to take you back to the pit. I’ve been fervently praying this past year for Hebrews 12:2 to hit you afresh. This past Tuesday my heart leapt for joy in the Lord when I heard you say ” There are children in desperate need in the world and I need to help.” Amen.
    Thank you Mom. Thank you God for the revelation and courage to be a spiritual guide to my Mom as a gift to her.
    Jen in Exton
    Sorry for the late post…just felt I needed to write the unspoken

  39. 139
    Jina says:

    Mom,

    Thank you for continuing to seek the Lord in your life. Thank you for appreciating His redemptive work in me. Thank you for loving on and pursuing a relationship with my husband and children so purposefully.

    Thank you for being willing to be authentic and discuss the hard things. Thank you for being willing to entertain opportunities to continue to grow in our relationship. Thank you for the way you have sewed patience to let the Lord and not the flesh be a new foundation for our relationship. Thank you for not taking the I am the elder approach through this, for hearing me out and honoring my concerns as I listen and honor yours.

    I love you! You have been a wonderful model regarding your commitment to your family, the Lord and unconditional love.

    May God richly bless you mom! He is your safe place in uncertainty.

    Jina

  40. 140
    Debra says:

    does anybody have diffuculty with adult girls that are married.. I never well almost never had adolescent prob but now I feel she is slipping away and the mnore I try and pull her back the more she pulls the other way.. I try to talk to her but she says it is all in my mind and she is fine….. Oh I want for us to all be close like we \used to be.. I love her hub and he loves me but it is hard for me to feel love from her….. I am willing to do whatever it takes…..please help.. i have been in God’s word all morning and He has sstrengthened me more than I could ask for but the tears are still here….. thanks sistas… i really need you

  41. 141
    Debra says:

    Dear Mom and Mom Beth,
    First for my precious birth mother…. boy I have given you more and more mercy the longer I live and I love having you as my number one cheerleader….. and having to take care of me and not me taking care of you is hard but you never seem to mind.
    now spiritual mother , Beth…. where do I begin.. I have loved the Lord my entire life but you sweet spiritual mother have taken be beyond what I knew and intro. God at a deeper level.. I know God has used you in MY life and I share you so much I think You would think I was a stalker,hahah if I came to your church…. I dearly love your openess and feel strength from your love… My best new thing is praying aloud God’s word… WOW how powerful.
    I love you both more than I can say

  42. 142
    Values Mom says:

    Mom,
    I love you. Thank you for loving me and caring enough to take over when Gloria wouldn’t do it. I am blessed beyond measure because you stepped in. You have 4 beautiful grandchildren. I can’t wait to see you in heaven! Gloria, thanks for giving me life. I am blessed beyond measure because you decided to let me live. I can’t wait to see you in heaven.

    Love,
    Angela

  43. 143
    Anonymous says:

    Dear Dad,

    Thank you for being dad-enough to make up for mom not being mom-enough. i don’t know that i’ll ever be able to make you understand just how amazing you are.

    when i think back on how you have loved me, i know you have come as close as close can be to being the father that Our Father desires you to be.

    He is proud. He loves you. So do i. alot.

  44. 144
    Nancy says:

    Dear Mom,

    Even though it has been 34 years since I last saw your loving, smiling face, I know you are with our Lord and you are cancer free. It was so difficult to have to say good-bye. I had two sweet baby girls who were never going to get to know their sweet, precious, loving Grandma, and I was not going to see my “best friend” again until I go home and I know you will be there to greet me. I still miss you Mom, but I know that I can just sit down in a quiet place and talk to you. You always knew just what to say and when to say it. I am so grateful for the faith that you instilled into all of your children. I am passing it on to my girls and they are passing it onto their children. I love you Mom and still miss your warm embrace.

    Love,
    Nancy

  45. 145
    Linda says:

    Dear Mom,
    I love you and miss you so very much. Though it has been 30 years since I last saw you. Sometimes, it seems like yesterday. You were my best friend, and we went everywhere together, except to my work. I know that someday beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will see you again. Thank you for helping prepare my mansion for me just the way I like. Love always,
    Linda

  46. 146
    Leslie Lauren says:

    To nedlami and the many women who have posted on here with similar sentiments…You are loved more than you can ever imagine. You already know God’s love for you, but what you don’t know is that you are loved by women who you may never see face-to-face here on earth. I’m crying as I type this, because my heart aches for your hurt, and I wish so badly that I could be wherever you are to give you the biggest hug of your life. Please know that there are many women just like me who are reading your stories and praying fervently that God will fill you with so much peace that you feel like you’re floating on clouds. YOU ARE LOVED TREMENDOUSLY!!!!!!!!!

  47. 147
    Anonymous says:

    Dear Mama,
    I can’t believe it has been 30 years since you left us, on Monday, the day AFTER Mother’s Day. I knew you were depressed, but I never dreamed that you would take your own life, that you were in so much pain you saw that as the only way out. I’m a mother now to a sweet 11-year-old boy, and you would have enjoyed him so much. I know that no one cares about your children like their “grandma”, and I miss that for my son. He doesn’t have ANY grandmas. I believe in my heart that you were saved and that I will see you in heaven one day, but then sometimes I’m not sure. I miss you and all that we could have shared these last 30 years. Thank you for all the sacrifices you made for my sister and I. I wish I could have been there for you like you were for us. Love, Debbie

  48. 148
    Kelly Ann says:

    Dear Mom,
    You are the BEST! I love your authenticity, your transparency and , yes, even how you say whatever pops into your head! You are a riot! It has not always been easy in our lives, has it? But, you and Daddy have always been faithful to each other & to God ever since you guys gave your lives over to Him. You, literally, drove that family stake (with our McReynolds name on it) into our front yard and said…."From this day on – this family belongs to & lives for GOD ALONE!" What enormous impact that decision has had on all of us all these years later. And now, my children are reaping so many blessings from seeds you, so faithfully, sowed years ago. Thank you Mom…for all your hard work, all your prayers, and all your love. I can never repay you but I'll love you ALWAYS!!!
    Kelly Ann

    PS….Miss Beth – I have to thank you for being one of my "spiritual Mom's" you have taught me so much and helped me break free from chains that never would have been broken had I not walked some of the roads in your Bible Studies. God is SO GOOD and He has used you mightily in so many lives – especially mine! PRAISE HIM FOREVER!

  49. 149
    jill says:

    Dear Mom,
    Did I tell you often enough Thank you for the sacrifices you made raising 4 “onery” kids especially after you got sick and still managed to run our home w/ love? Did I say I love you enough times to make up for my snotty teenage years, when I knew I knew everything? I am betting no to both questions. I am so sorry for the times I made you feel less than the wonderful Mom you were.
    40 was way to young to bury you, I have so many questions to ask, adventures to share, and hugs to give you. Most days I rejoice that you are pain free and w/ the Lord, but today I want you back. I doubt I will ever be as patient w/ my kids as you were w/ me but I do love them just like you loved me, w/all your heart. love, jill PS I am doing my best to take care of Dad and still praying for his salvation, so he can join us one day in Heaven. Looking forward to seeing you again

  50. 150
    Lisa in Kinston says:

    Mom,
    I love you and miss you so much. The 6 months since you went to be with Jesus have been so hard for me. I keep waiting for you to walk through the door saying "I'm home from my trip & I had the best time." I know the last words we said to each other was "I love you, see ya Saturday," I just never in a million years expected to get the call that you went to heaven in your sleep that night. You were the best mom ever, loved me & my brother unconditionally & were always there for us–in person or behind supporting us with prayer. My girls had the best "meme" ever & I am grateful for the impact you had on their lives. I know I will see you again in Heaven, with our Jesus.
    I LOVE YOU, Lisa

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