The moment I read the post written by Jo-Anne Smith announcing a very inspiring contest idea from Bill Cherry Inspiration 'Wisdom from the one who raised me' contest I knew without doubt I wanted to share this beautiful person that I love so much, my Mom.
The sweetness of a honeydew, the beauty of a rose...My Angel, My Mom, My Gift From God
Another time and in another place there she was, my sweet Mom being brought into this world. When God handed her over, he made sure she had strong wings to protect, to love and to take flight when needed.
As a young girl she learned early to use that strength that she was given and to never, ever give up. Although she was raised by my Grandma and Grandpa, the relationship she had with Grandma wasn’t the greatest. I’ll just say, my Mom and Grandma never met eye to eye, most of the time. Mom had to use her wings and find the strength she needed to fly.
For some time before Great Grandma's passing, Mom lived with Great Grandma. It’s heartbreaking to hear Mom tell the story of losing her Grandma, her protector, the one who helped Mom spread her wings and be strong.
Not so long after Great Grandma's passing, Mom met my father and they had me. She was only 19. The story she tells of the day I was born is so comforting to me. “I’ll never forget the day you were born, I was in labor for many hours, but it was all worth it because I got to hold you in my arms and love you, the most beautiful baby I have ever seen”. (all Mom’s say that, right?)
It was just me and Mom most of the time. They never had anymore children. My father was out of town a lot. Mom would take me to school, dance, gymnastics, the emergency room for the occasional sprain, break, burn or bee sting (allergic to the darn buzzards). She gave me the best Birthday parties ever and was always a room mother. No matter what, no matter where and never without doubt, she was always there to love me and protect me with her angel wings.
Then for a moment, for a time, and not a place that I like to visit often, Mom and my father decided to divorce. I was only 8, the only child and I felt as though my world just completely fell apart and there was nobody there to lean on or to protect me from the broken life that began. My Mom, like a timid little child tucked her angel wings away, because now she had to be solid as a rock. She worked 2 jobs to take care of me and her. I went from having my angel there all the time to searching for her often and hoping that one day I would get her back.
Time passed, lessons were learned and all that time that she was working really hard, it wasn’t that her wings were put away temporarily, it was that her wings were holding her up so that she could stand tall, be strong and never collapse and fall.
Mom went through some really hard times following the divorce. Many times I wanted to run away from the world and hope that my angel would find me in the serenity and peace that we both needed so desperately. Soon, that is what happened. She spread her wings out, only stronger than ever before. That is when she fell in love again and became whole. The man she married gave her so much love and happiness that she couldn't help but spread her wings out and take flight.
From that day forward, again, no matter what, no matter where and never without doubt, she was always there to love me and protect me with her angel wings.
The lessons I have learned from the wise one, the loving one, the beautiful woman I call Mom is:
As hard as this was to finally get down in writing (blogging), it's actually turned out to be something my heart needed to release and an expression I needed to show and maybe my sweet Mom will read this and know even more how much I truly love her, My Angel, My Mom, My Gift From God.
This beautiful song also reminds me that It's God's Will and it's up to me to make that difference in my life to be the person that I'm truly meant to be, no matter what circumstances have lead me to this point in my life. And I choose to:
Give graciously, love affectionately, and spread my wings out to search for more dreams I want to fulfill. All because I have had my Mom and her wisdom. I love you Mom!
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Julie Neerings, GRI- Heart of Utah Real Estate Copyright © 2008- If you are considering buying, selling, military relocations to Hill AFB or relocating to Utah, you deserve local expertise and advice to be provided by a professional in real estate. Julie Neerings is a Utah REALTOR® providing full time, professional real estate services to buyers and sellers in the cities of Layton, Bountiful, Woods Cross, West Valley, West Jordan, South Jordan, Riverton, Herriman and all surrounding cities.
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Whether you are buying or selling property along the Wasatch Front in Utah, my goal is to provide you with the resources and tools you need to make the best decision in your real estate investments.
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Beautiful story Julie...you have come a long way in a short time to express yourself in writing and with that brought to my screen your tales of inspiration. Good luck in the contest!
Julie, what a lovely tribute to your mom. I hope that you will share this with her!
Sally: Thank you as always for your continued support. That expression has for some reason been hard for me at times. It's that fear that I'm slowly getting over. The odd thing is, when I'm commenting on another persons post or when you meet me in person, it's so easy for me to express myself about YOU. But expressing myself about me and my life is another step I'm accomplishing. Thank you to many wonderful friends I have here in the rain, such as you. Big Hugs to you my friend!
Mary: You are so kind. I really appreciate your support. You always have such kind words. I will share this with her. She will probably shed a tear or two, but she will love it. I had called her earlier today to let her know that I was writing something special just for her and asked her if she would scan one of the poems that I had written her. I wanted to include it. She needed to pull it out of her keepsakes and asked me to hold off. Now she will have this to ponder on as well.
Julie, Your post is just beautiful, I'm sure your mother will shed a few tears when she sees it. What a beautiful tribute to a very special angel. You and I were both very fortunate to have mothers who are more like true Angels.
Carole: What a wonderful compliment that is. Thank you so much. Yes that is a very fortunate thing for us both to have these sweet ladies that spread their wings far. Big hugs to you Carole!
And right back at you! :)
Julie - You have certainly touched a tender spot in my heart and this Mom!! I have experienced and can relate to so much in your story in so many ways. My parents divorcing, my own divorce, working so much and trying to make it on my own without financial support and trying to still be there for my kids. I haven't always made the best choices over the years but I do hope that my children understand my absence was to make things better. I hope that my daughter understands it someday like you have! You have certainly shared this heartfelt story brilliantly!! I am POSITIVE your mother will come to tears and truly feel loved and appreciate your growth and wisdom! She will be proud no doubt. I know I would be! I just don't know how many more tear jerker's I can read on these, so touching and absolutely OUTSTANDING!! Thank you for allowing me to get a peek of who you are!
Hi Julie,
What a beautiful story, I'm sure your mom is very proud of you! Thank you for sharing your beautiful writing with us. :)
Julie, I'm so glad you were able to put this together and in Time for the contest deadline! It's truly beautiful and so heartfelt.....your Mom sounds like a very amazing woman and I notice she passed all of her best qualities down to you.
((-:
Jo
Julie - What a beautiful post. It's great to see you spreading your wings in the rain!
Julie,
What an absolutely beautiful post. I had to read it over and over. What a mom you have,
Tom Braatz
Julie - you are so lucky to have a mother. You understood what it took your mother to "come back" to you. Not many children can rise above their own hurts to see the hurt and pain of their parents. Mothers after all are only human. This a beautifully written story.
Candace: Thank you for sharing your heart here. That is the very thing that as a child, it's hard at that time, at that moment of absence, but looking back and knowing that she would have done anything to make my life better and keep me safe and well, that is love. My Mom has made the same comments to me "I have made mistakes in my life and things that I do regret, but never for a moment was my love and focus not on you, I can't go back and change anything, I can only go forward any make things better". She has said that many times to me. I know those words are true. I love her so much and the thought of any part of her aching makes me hurt. I know without doubt, from reading about you and the pieces of your life that you have shared, Candace, your children will always be grateful to you. It's clear that you have such a very loving, giving heart and just knowing that, they will never look back and resent you for any absence. They will only love you more.
Big hugs to you my sweet friend.
Suzanne: Thank you for such a kind comment. I appreciate you being here, as always to support me in my writings. She will be surprised and prideful all at the same time. This is my way of standing on a mountain top and shouting out to her, "I love you Mom".
Jo: You are such a sweetheart. Because of your inspiration to write this all down, I feel completely whole today. I appreciate you for that my friend. Sometimes it's hard to share these feelings with the world, but somehow, I only feel that God took my hand and said it's "OK".
Oh, the deadline. Yeah I barely made it. Mom would have thrown a fit that I waited until the last minute and was almost late.
Thank you again Jo!
Tom P: Thank you for your kind comment and my wings are spread for sure. It feels great to share what is in my heart.
Tom B: A beautiful Mom she is and one that for not a day, I don't make sure she knows how much I love her. Thank you for your kind comment and I'm certainly glad you enjoyed reading this post.
Faina: As you mentioned in your post, we should never take our Moms for granted. I love her so much and truly feel that she is my Gift From God. He knew that I would need her. I don't harbor bad feelings over some of the choices that she made. There truly is no time in this life for that. More than anything, she conquered the darkness and made it through glowing in brightness and love.
Thank you for such a kind comment Faina. I will be eternally touched by your story about your Mom.
Absolutely beautiful, Julie. I feel as though I know your mom now. Thank you so much for sharing your angel with us. God bless you!
Elizabeth:You are so sweet. Thank you so much for such a very kind comment. God bless you my friend!
It is a no wonder you are who you are today, Having met your mom and having become such good friends with you I truly see how blessed I am to have you- and your mom in my life. You set me at peace when times are tough for me-you know they have been, and you give me reason to love life-for I see through you how wonderful life can be. You juggle life, home, work and family, which I know has been a challenge, but you show me it can be done and with love and respect. Thank you for being you and thanks to your mom and dad you are truly an angel yourself.
Penny: You know how to make the tears well up. I appreciate you sharing your feelings here more than you will ever know. I can't wait for my sweet Mom to read this. All these beautiful comments and yours in addition will truly brighten her day. I will always be here for you and I know you know that. I'm so excited for this time in your life and the many blessings that you will have along the way. I believe in you and know that you will feel that success soon in your business.
A great big hug to you my dear friend!
Mom: I love you! I'm trying to pull it together here so that I can type the words that I'm feeling. You have always been my angel, the one I hold onto, the one that has time and time again tried to protect me from life. Your faith in me and the strong belief that you have given me to just be me, is something I am so grateful to you for. You have been a wonderful example. When I'm not strong, you encourage me to be.
I will never forget as a teenager how you would come to me, when I was in silence and didn't want to talk to anybody at all. You were persistent and you would sit at the edge of my bed or which ever spot I was at, and say "Julie Ann, I'm not leaving here until you talk to me. I know something is wrong, I'm your Mom, I love you and want to help you through whatever it is you are going through". You would not leave until I spoke. As annoying as that was at the time. I've always been grateful to you for that and have loved you even more, because you helped me to open up.
Thank you Mom for such an incredible comment you made here. After all this was about YOU and somehow you always turn that spotlight back on me. It comes with no surprise that you would stand on a mountain top and shout out your love for me (caps shows it well). You have a family that loves you dearly and your grandchildren and son-in-law know without doubt your love for them.
To you I am Grateful!
Julie- We are truly blessed to have wonderful moms. My mother died more than ten years ago and I miss her a great deal. She raised three girls by herself. I hope we all make her proud. Thanks for the wonderful post.
Jennifer: You are right, we are blessed indeed. I'm sorry for the loss of your sweet Mom. I'm sure she is by your side everyday. Raising 3 girls on her own, boy her wings were strong. Thank you for commenting my dear friend and I hope you have a wonderful Sunday.
Julie...I feel privileged, not only to have a glimpse into your heart and who you are, but to have seen the above exchange!
Dear Julie - this is Your best writing ever! and even more Exemplary for us all is the exchange of comments below it between you and your wonderful Mom - Shauna...please let her know that the example she provided by bringing you up in this world has touched many others including me!
Blessings to you both - you are a gift to me today as well:)
Sincerely,
Grace Safrin
Julie- I can not stop crying reading this, watching the video and then reading your mom's comment to you and yours back to her. You are so blessed to have each other. The video God's Will was beautiful, she has such a beautiful voice. You are an angel here on Active Rain. My life has truly been blessed from getting to know you and more of who you are. Thank you so much for sharing your angel with us. Katerina
Julie, How lovely of your wondeful Mom to stop by ! Hello, Julie's Mom !!! You truly are a wonderful woman, look at the daughter you raised.
((-:
Jo
Joan: What a sweetheart you are. Thank you for stopping by to comment on this very special post. How exciting that was for me to have my sweet Mom comment. Ahhh...the love we feel from our Mom's, whether near or far or up above spreading their wings to reach out and love us unconditionally.
Grace: Oh my goodness, what a heartwarming comment that is. You know how to tug at my heart Grace. You are such a dear friend that I will treasure always. She now has the link to my blog and was so excited to continue reading. I will make sure she reads your comment. You know, when Jo posted this contest, I had such a hard time writing it. Why? I have no clue. It's easy for me to express my love to my Mom, most anybody. I was uncertain if I should share all of my heart here. God gave me comfort and that is when I knew, it truly was OK. Somebody else will be affected by our story.
Blessings back to you Grace. If I could see you right now, a great big hug would be in order. So get ready, get set, catch my hug
Katerina: I often think how comforting it is to walk side by side and hand in hand with each of my friends. If
that chance arises that I may stumble and fall, I know with all my heart she/he will be there to help me up, to lift my spirits and tell me everything will be OK. Because of friends like you Katerina, I know without doubt it's not by chance we were put in the same place to walk side by side and hand in hand together. We all have so many amazing things to learn from one another here. Your comments have truly touched my life in such a profound way and I will never forget that. Now I will gently wipe away your tears and tell you thank you for being apart of this important story that I have chosen to share with everybody and tell you everything will be OK. Big Hugs to you my dear friend.
Jo: I am so grateful to you for giving me the inspiration to write and share my beautiful Mom with the world. I do love her so much. Thank you for your incredible comment. From you my dear friend I hold those words close to my heart. Never wanting to let go and only looking forward to the day that I can see your beautiful face and give you a great big hug.
Candace: Oh my, with the beautiful comments from you and the the previous comments, I need some tissues for my eyes. You are so welcome Candace and it is I who is completely, without a hidden word of gratitude, thankful for you being here to share your story and heart with us. Knowing that our experience gives you even a tiny bit of hope makes each letter worth gold. I'm sure this will mean a lot to my sweet Mom as well. I hope for her to take the time to read all the latter comments tomorrow. She was already in tears when she called me this afternoon, now she will be completely humbled by the additional comments.
I pray for you Candace to hear those words from the mountain top as Karly shouts out "Mom I love you with all my heart and you are my angel" Because she will.
Big hugs to you!
Julie,
Beautifully written and expressed. I feel the love. Your writing just continues to improve and your inspiration here in the rain is wonderful and uplifting. Thank you for being here.
Cynthia: Thank you for such a heartfelt comment. Your compliment is dear to me, one that I will never forget. I truly appreciate what you share from your heart my friend. I am so grateful for your friendship and without doubt you are always here to send kindness. Big Hugs to You!
Julie, what an inspiration. It is so amazing how just the word "mom" evokes such a range of memories and emotions. You are you mom are obviously blessed to have each other...
Stephen: You are right, "Mom" evokes so many memories and emotions. All the stories that were written were so amazing. I don't think any of them kept a dry eye. I really appreciate your kind comment and I hope you have a wonderful holiday.
Julie, such an inspirational post; your mother clearly is very special as is your writing!
Julie: I had missed your mom's comment until I went back and read all of the comments. How truly precious! NOW...I really want to hug both of you! We are so blessed to still have our mothers with us. I want to remember to cherish my mother every single day. You are a treasure!
Julie- What a beautiful tribute to your mom. Your tribute made me cry, and think about how much I love my mom for everything she did, how hard she worked for us kids. Thanks so much for sharing your heart. You did a beautiful job!
Thanks for the hug Julie! Here's one, no 2 coming back - one for you & one for your MOM...LOL
Sincerely,
Grace
p.s. where did you get that cute thanksgiving day graphic under you photo?
Julie, I really liked the lessons you listed from your Mom. Great stuff!
(Especially, Be who God meant for you to be). That one is key for us all growing up and realizing our own "specialness."
Diane: Thank you for leaving me such a very kind comment. I really appreciate you always being here to lend support of my blogs. Yes, my Mom is a special lady. I don't know what I would do without her. I hope you have a wonderful holiday!
Oh Alecia you are such a sweetheart. It looks like I need to pull the tissues out and wipe your eyes too. It seems so simple to shout out the love I have for my Mom, my Dad, children and sweet hubby. I'll bet you are the same way. Thank you for reading my post and leaving such a very heartfelt comment. Have a wonderful week my friend!
Hello Elizabeth: I'm so glad you went back through to read the comments. It was such a lovely surprise to say the least, to see her comment. Although I told her about my tribute to her, it was exciting that she made a comment. She is a precious Mom and your comment is so genuinely appreciated. We would both be happy recipients of your hug and we would for surely give you a hug right back.
I do agree with you, we are so very fortunate to have our Mom's still here with us. As I was reading all the other incredibly beautiful stories, my heart ached at the thought of losing my Mom. With each tribute that was made about a beautiful Mom who had passed, my strong thought was that each of their spirits were close by, comforting the writer. Angels have been amongst us both physically and spiritually. What a gift that has been.
Grace: You are so welcome, my friend! Oh what a nice hug that was, thank you so much. That Thanksgiving graphic came from photobucket.com. I just searched for Thanksgiving. Go check it out and enjoy. Have a wonderful night.
Gary: It's so nice to see you visit. I really appreciate your kind comment. That statement does ring so true, doesn't it? We all do have a special gift to grow into. Thank you again for your comment and have a wonderful holiday.
Julie - What a beautiful post for your mom. The comments alone made me cry. I will be including this in the weekly Family Ties summary post today. Have a terrific holiday weekend, my friend.
Hi Julie & Shauna - I hope that your Thanksgiving was filled with love and laughter with friends & family. I had to avoid these comments as it was making me cry every time I returned. This visit is no different. I know crying here was healthy and heart warming. It is such a wonderful thing to know that you both share an admiration for one other and your love is strong. I know without a doubt that one day that all my children will understand and look back at the sacrifices we all have made. You both have been a shining star for me this holiday season. Thank you Julie for the extra little email for my holiday wish. You are so kind and thoughtful. I'm so glad that Jason has included this post in the 'Family Ties' review, there is much to be shared in this post full of love and admiration for our love ones. May you and your family be safe and happy throughout the Holiday Season. God Bless You! Candace
Jason: You are so kind my friend. I'm certainly glad you had the opportunity to read our story and thank you so much for including this in your Family Ties summary post. What an honor that is. I mentioned it to you in my comment on your post, but I do sincerely appreciate your friendship. Having the privilege of talking to you on the phone, I felt that you left me with the confidence in knowing that it really is OK to share more as long as it's not hurting anybody in the process. You know I was in fear of showing "too much of myself" here. Now reading through the comments and the stories that others have shared with me in this post, I truly feel so blessed by their comments and the friendships I have now gained. Thank you again!
Candace: Thanksgiving is such a special time, isn't it? Now to fill each day as if a holiday were in thought and the giving, caring spirit are always there. Thank you for stopping by again to read more of the comments, which yes you are right, tug at the heart and fill the eyes with tears. My Mom has had a tough week. I know she will stop by again because she was already so touched by the beautiful comments of you and all of our other friends have left.
You are right, your children will understand and they will only look to you for strength in their own trials. Because you have been a wonderful example and God has made you their angel and gift to always treasure.
You are always welcome my friend.
I wish for you and your family to be safe and happy throughout the Holiday Season as well.
Julie: What a beautiful reminder that we should tell our loved ones, whether Mother, Grandmother or other relatives, how we feel while they are here with us. So many of us aren't sure how to say it or what to say to express to them how we value and care for them. We end up regretting that we didn't tell them how important they were to us. I lost my Grandmother 9 years ago on my son's 3rd birthday. She lived with our family while I was growing up. Though I did tell her that I loved her, I didn't tell her how much I would miss her and how much she enriched our lives. I believe she knows. I like to think that when you lose a loved one, your family gains a new guardian angel.
Mary: Thank you kindly for your beautiful comment. You have such a wonderful insight on the way this all works. I truly appreciate you sharing your feelings and experiences. What a sweet lady you are.
As you said, "I believe she knows" and you are right, she does. Have a wonderful week!
Absolutely beautiful, I lost my mother 3 years ago, It was the most difficult time in my life and still is. The pain never goes away, your right when you say
No matter what, no matter where and never without doubt, she was always there to love me and protect me with her angel wings.
Thank you for this post.
Patricia: You are so welcome! More than anything I'm sorry for your loss. As I read your words, my heart aches for you because you are still hurting. I'll bet she is right by your side all the time fluttering her wings about and sending her love often.
I really appreciate you stopping by to comment and sharing your story Patricia. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead.
My friend, these words, Give graciously, love affectionately, and spread my wings out to search for more dreams I want to fulfill. All because I have had my Mom and her wisdom" are awe-inspiring!!!
We all have had "special" childhoods....for the good or bad" and it's those early years that have made us who we are today.
Thank you for sharing!