Dear Mommy,
I’m sorry I don’t remember your name – I know we’ve met before. And I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to speak to you yesterday. I would have liked to tell you that watching you with your 14-month-old daughter made my day.
What I do know is that you’re in church with your little girl a lot of Sundays, on your own. You keep her happily occupied, and I can see that you love having that time with her. I also see some other things.
Like the fact that you hastily pulled your hair back into a pony tail so you could get yourself to church on time. I think there wasn’t time for makeup yesterday, either. Yet your adorable daughter was dressed to the nines, with her hair perfectly gathered into a bow.
I saw your attention constantly pulled between keeping your daughter happy and participating in the worship service. And I understood when attention to your little girl won out.
I watched you fuss over your little darling. Getting something out of her eye. Keeping her from eating floor Cheerios. Making sure she only ate one at a time. Handing her a tippy cup when one got stuck in her throat. Giving her toy after toy after toy. Kissing her often and whispering into her ear.
I saw myself in you, in those blessed and blissful days of being the mother of one daughter. Completely wrapped up in the joy of being her mama.
Thank you for reminding me. And for clearly enjoying your little girl as much as I enjoyed mine.
-Amy
Mom Goes On 
That was beautiful.
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Thanks. That experience definitely improved my day!
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Beautiful! !!
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It is so hard to try to be the calm mom in church. I’m lucky I’ve got some other mom support there. My mom always reminds me that the noises the children make are always loudest to the parents, not the rest of the congregation. That those noises fill the church with joy. I hope that is true.
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I know it’s hard…when ours were young my husband was in the worst of his depression years, and I was at church with all three of them on my own many Sundays. And I think your mom is right. I read an article about kids in worship recently, which pointed out that little ones in the pews are actually ministering to those around them in a real and important way. That comment totally resonated with me. I thought of the many times I’ve been weighed down with worry and fear, only to be immeasurably cheered and heartened by a smile from a baby in front of me. 🙂
-Amy
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Gorgeous!
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It really was. And the little girl cracked me up. I kept trying to get her to laugh or smile at me, but she just stared at me like I was some kind of freak. Maybe she was pretty smart…
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In really looking forward to a future post where you get to talk to them. I bet you’d make the mum’s day and the little girl sounds like a joy. Xx
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Love this!
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Thanks. I loved experiencing it! 🙂
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