The Heart of a Mom

Preparing for a whirlwind day of emotions.

As I’m sending this today, I’m preparing for two very different moments of motherhood, both tugging at my heart in their own ways. Let me take you into the spinning thoughts I’ve been carrying.

I recently finished listening to A Good and Perfect Gift by Amy Julia Becker. It wasn’t on my reading list for the start of 2026, but Amy Julia kept drawing me in through her podcasts, Reimagining the Good Life and Take the Next Step. Her conversations are honest, vulnerable, and deeply thoughtful, and they center around disability, inclusion, and caregiving advocacy. These are themes my heart leans toward, and I highly recommend her work.

Today, I’ll be sitting with her on her Take the Next Step podcast to record an upcoming episode. I am honored to talk with her and add my voice to the conversation about disability and caregiving, sharing our family’s journey with our son, Robert.

But last week, as I was preparing for this podcast conversation, I received a message from a close pastor’s wife. A former member of our church small group had passed away. I was stunned. I had reached out to her by text several times over the past few years but never heard back. I should have picked up the phone. Realizing that future mom-to-mom conversations with her would never happen broke my heart.

So when you join Amy Julia Becker and me to listen to her podcast, you’ll know that immediately after recording that conversation, I joined others at my friend’s Celebration of Life service, sharing memories of her impact on my life. Her contagious joy and servant-hearted love for her family and for ours will stay with me always. I know both of these moments will shape me.

The heart of a mom holds so much: the joy of nurturing our children, the gift of friendships that remind us of the beauty of life, and the ache of unexpected loss. I know many of you understand this part of the human symphony. It’s the evidence of living a full life.

We often wish we could erase the hard parts. I know I’ve prayed for a different journey at times. But I also know that without the valleys, I would miss the places where God’s comfort meets me most tenderly.

So today, I will share Robert’s story, and I will remember those I’ve loved and lost. I hope you will do the same, dear mom.

Listening Library: “Supermarket Flowers” (Ed Sheeran)

https://youtu.be/bIB8EWqCPrQ?si=hUcgZk0d7fQpqq9U

Supermarket Flowers

I took the supermarket flowers from the windowsill

I threw the day-old tea from the cup

Packed up the photo album Matthew had made

Memories of a life that's been loved

Took the get well soon cards and stuffed animals

Poured the old ginger beer down the sink

Dad always told me, "Don't you cry when you're down"

But mum, there's a tear every time that I blink

Oh, I'm in pieces, it's tearing me up, but I know

A heart that's broke is a heart that's been loved

So, I'll sing Hallelujah

You were an angel in the shape of my mum

When I fell down, you'd be there holding me up

Spread your wings as you go

And when God takes you back

He'll say, "Hallelujah, you're home"

I fluffed the pillows, made the beds, stacked the chairs up

Folded your nightgowns neatly in a case

John said he'd drive then put his hand on my cheek

And wiped a tear from the side of my face

And I hope that I see the world as you did, 'cause I know

A life with love is a life that's been lived

So, I'll sing Hallelujah

You were an angel in the shape of my mum

When I fell down, you'd be there holding me up

Spread your wings as you go

And when God takes you back

He'll say, "Hallelujah, you're home"

Hallelujah

You were an angel in the shape of my mum

You got to see the person I have become

Spread your wings and I know

That when God took you back

He said, "Hallelujah, you're home"

Songwriters: Benjamin Levin, Ed Sheeran, Johnny Mcdaid

Supermarket Flowers lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited, Hipgnosis Side B