And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, “I need a caregiver.” So God made a mother.

God said, “I need someone willing to get up in the middle of the night to comfort a crying child, warm bottles, change diapers, and kiss sweaty foreheads,” so God made a mother.

“I need someone with arms strong enough to carry two bags of groceries from the car, but gentle enough to wipe tears off a little one’s cheeks. Somebody to help with homework, wash dishes, do laundry, scrub sinks and toilets, and still dress up for a husband even when she’s too tired to dance in the kitchen. Still, she will dance in the kitchen. The kitchen she keeps warm. The kitchen she keeps clean. She will dance with her babies there. Dance with her husband there. And dance when nobody’s watching there because she never wants to lose the dance.” So God made a mother.

She will smile for you when she feels like crying. Be brave for you when she’s scared to death. She will tell you you’re okay as she wipes the blood from your scraped knees when you fall off your bike. And you’ll know you’re okay because she’s stopped your bleeding and told you you’ll be okay. So God made a mother.

“I need someone who will go without sleep, go without food, and go without a new pair of shoes so children don’t have to. Somebody who will get up early with toddlers and go to bed late with teenagers. Somebody available to meet a child’s every need at every hour of every day without earning a dime.” So God made a mother.

God had to have somebody willing to mop the floor, iron the clothes, change the sheets, and scrub the tub. Someone to bathe the kids, and bathe the dogs, and bathe before bed so she smells sweet for a husband. So God made a mother.

God said, “I need a womb for nine months, and somebody willing to labor for 19 hours to deliver babies into this world. I need a mother’s body to make milk and make supper and make love. I need her to make cookies and make costumes and make a teenager pay attention. She needs to make Sundays matter, and church a celebration of grace, even when getting there is hard. She needs to find little shoes and locate lost car keys and dig deep for the faith to believe that pastor has something important to say and that the Good Book’s worth reading. Worth living.” So God made a mother.

Somebody who will hold a family together when the day’s falling apart. Someone who will say, “You can do it” and, “I am praying for you,” and, “the sun will come out tomorrow.” Someone who will laugh with you and cry with you and tell you she loves you even when it seems nobody else on the planet loves you. Someone who will never give up on you. Never, ever give up on you, child. So God made a mother.

Inspired by Paul Harvey’s So God Made A Farmer.

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P.S. Thanks to my incredible Mom. I’m so grateful God made Carolyn my mother! She has always been Superwoman to me. And now that she is “Oma” her superpowers are even more evident. And because the Lord knew I’d need extra help in mothering and being mothered, he also made my magnificent Aunt Marolyn. Anyone who knows these two women knows they have always been and will always be the: “Wonder twins.” Shape of amazing!

Happy Mother’s Day to all.