Monday Meme: The Connection Between the Heart of a Mother and the Heart of Her Children

I think the realization of what this meme says becomes clearer and clearer as my children get older. There is nothing in the world that can prepare a woman to understand the God-given, grace filled connection between a child's heart and her own. Maybe that's too cliché. Maybe I'm just being an emotional, over-worked, under-rested mom of 8. That's what some folks might say anyways, but I'll guarantee that no mother out there will disagree with me.

When kids are little, the connection is new. Mommies bond with their babies in a myriad of ways and that special connection continues to grow. As toddlers, the joys and sorrows are so simple to fix and the tears dry up almost as fast as they fall. A bumped head, hurt feelings, and sibling rivalry are a piece of cake in comparison to the heartaches that come with adolescence.

I clearly remember the first time my husband and I had to punish our oldest child for lying. I think I might have cried harder than her because it was in that moment that I realized that I can't fix everything. Some consequences, some hurts have to be experienced for our kids to grow...for us to grow. In those moments and through those experiences, a mom's heart aches.

There are lots of happy, heart-soaring moments, too. Like when you feel the grace just beaming from a child who just had their First Reconciliation or another child finally reaches a goal they set. A mom's heart feels those happy moments right along side the sad ones.

I'm only 12.5 years into being a mom so I am certain my heart will continue to be stretched with ups and downs of more teenage years and more toddler years (with 8 kiddos, that's a lot of years). So as my mothering journey continues, my prayer is that I can joyfully appreciate the special grace-filled connection that I have with each of my children whether it means tears or smiles or something in between!