Honoring a dear friend...

Typically Fridays are Home Improvement days where we assign weekend homework. But today I've got something else on my heart that I want to share.

With Mother's Day on Sunday it's only appropriate that we acknowledge this special day. And this year I want to honor a dear friend of mine who deserves to be wished a Happy Mother's Day more than anyone I know.

She has been a foster parent to three little children this past year hoping to adopt them. God has had other plans and those plans did not include for her and her husband to become their parents. It has been heart-wrenching and so painful to see the road she has walked this past year as she longs to be a mom and has cared so graciously for the little ones God has placed in her arms.

So I've written her a letter. I commend her this Mother's Day. And I challenge myself, and all women, to strive to follow her example with any children we are blessed to encounter in our lives.

Dear Jeri Anne,

I’ve been debating about whether or not to send you a Mother’s Day card. I chose not to because I thought it might be tough to receive, but I truly believe that you deserve to have one. You have been a mother for nearly a year now to three different children! You have loved and cared and fought for their health and safety. And you’ve done it all without knowing the end of the story….and right now without having a little one of your own to care for.

You’ve gone beyond just meeting their physical needs. You’ve met their emotional needs as well and you’ve shown these little children what it’s like to be loved. I will never forget hearing Demi tell you "Jesus is alive!" after we taught her the resurrection story for the Sunday School lesson. It is because of your dedication and commitment that these children know that there is a God who loves them…even when their parents haven’t loved them.

You've lived out what it means to be a mom: doctor's visits, late night feedings, sick kids, scrapbooking memories, losing sleep, shopping for them, celebrating birthdays, teaching them, bringing them to church, and so much more.

You inspire me. You make me want to be the kind of woman who gives my all. You are selfless and courageous and tough as nails. I know some days it doesn’t seem like that, and some days the pain is overwhelming and your heart is raw, but beneath it all you have endured, persevered, and sacrificed.

I love you dearly friend and I’m praying this weekend that you would know that there are little children in this world who are blessed because God brought you into their lives.

Happy Mother’s Day to a woman and a friend who exemplifies all that it means to be a mom!

Stacy