The MLP on The Significance of Stories

READ ABOUT THE GENESIS OF THE MOTHER LETTER PROJECT. Don’t forget to read about the Mother’s Day Edition.

Amber and I have been discussing the power of our stories. Our stories empower us. They are as distinct and complex as our fingerprints. And although distinct, the similarities we find within our’s and other’s can lend encouragement and hope. If we are dots, are stories are the connecting lines. I believe that it’s time to start drawing.

Amber has decided to share our love story on Tuesdays on her site. Similarly, I have decided to begin sharing some of the stories of the Mother Letter Project. Put the snowflake under the microscope. Examine the fine lines. Discuss what you see, both the beauty and deformity. It makes us who we are.

Today I am sharing a brief excerpt from a letter written by my friend Kari. Enjoy, and feel free to discuss:

Dear Mother,

When we found out our son would have challenges and would possibly see
God sooner than we would I hurt in a way that I didn’t know was possible. I
would have done anything to make it better, but for the first time there was
absolutely nothing I could do, nothing I could say to change the situation. …
How helpless I felt, and yet how much strength I drew from knowing God was in
the middle of it. …

Special care became part of our lives and when those requirements became noticeable to those around and to those who passed, I found myself not resentful, but rather feeling love and compassion toward everyone who passed. I will never look at a mother of a child with additional care requirements the same - they do so much, give so much, love so deeply, endure so strongly, hurt so keenly, and appreciate life so much. …

My little one has entered the gates of heaven, but I will forever be his mother, and he a part of me. As much as I would give anything to hold my little one close, my life will be forever richer because of him. It is only through him that I have learned that the love of a mother is a love that knows no bounds….

If asked what lessons I have learned… I would say this taught me to trust that God, who made me a mother and who created my child, equipped me to meet the needs of my child. I would say listen, really listen to what your child is teaching you. As you would sit and listen to God, sit and listen to the silence, to the things they do not say and to the things they do say - actively listen to them. Make time to get to know them; not just who you think they are, but who they think they are. Strip yourself of what you want them to be and look deeply into what God has made them, who they dream of being, who they are.

… The handprints of our children will be captured on our hearts forever and
will shape our hearts into a work of art that only a child can create.

Love,
Kari