The Mother with No Children

With yesterday being Mother's Day, our focus of course was on mother's and all that we do for our families. (And I hope that if you are a mother you had a special day!!)
But, I want to share with you about a woman who is a sweet friend of mine and has no children.  She and her husband tried for many years, but never could have any of their own and the Lord never allowed them to adopt.  To this day,  Mother's Day is a very difficult day for her. And rightfully so.  Her deep desire to have children of her own was never realized & her heart still longs to see that desire satisfied.
On the outside looking in, I have a different perspective than she does.
Her husband spent over 20 years in the military as a high ranking officer.  Because of his position they were often stationed overseas in some pretty difficult areas.  With each assignment, my friend found her own assignment.  She and the other wives in the group would find orphans, run down medical clinics or just area's of town that needed some help and they would go in and volunteer their time.  My friend often found herself teaching new moms how to care for their babies, holding babies, bathing children, teaching children and too many more jobs than my friend can even begin to share.  Her life was always about children though she never had her own.
When her husband retired and they settled in the states her life continued to be about children. She currently volunteers at our church with the Special Needs Ministry.  She spends her morning at church loving on children that don't always return her love.  She reads to them, plays with them and shares Jesus with them.
She also serves on the board of a small Bible Study group for moms.  Here is my friend, who has no children, once again surrounding herself with women who are moms.  They love her & listen to her wisdom.  How is it that a woman who has never raised a child could offer such wisdom to mothers?  She loves the Lord and lives according to His principles.  She also pulls off her experiences from over seas and applies that to scripture.

My friend still has the painful desire to have children of her own, but what she doesn't always see is that the Lord has given her children all over the world!
My friend Karol Ladd has a great definition of MOM. 

Molders Of Mankind

I love that!!!  And I think that is a great description of my friend.  God has allowed her the opportunity that women who have children may not have ever had.  She has helped to influence and mold mothers and children all over the world. 

We don't always understand God's ways.  Scripture reminds us that his ways are not our ways.  I know that if my friend had it her way, she would have a house full of children, but Gods' way took her on a different road.  She is like a small pebble that is thrown into a lake and her ministry is like the ripples that continue to unfold in the water from the force of the pebble.


I believe that God did make my friend a mother, just not in the biological sense.