Mother’s Day is coming up this Sunday, and I know this day brings mixed emotions for many people. If your mother has passed on, then the day may bring sadness, mixed with fond memories of your childhood and special times you spent with her.

If your mother is still alive, yet you’re not able to see her in person, your joy is only complete when you can make a phone call or contact her in some way. The phone lines on Mother’s Day are busier than any other time of the year!

I’m looking forward to this Mother’s Day. I’ll be spending it with my parents, my husband’s parents, and my own family. Our church has a parent-child dedication service on Mother’s Day, and we’re having our younger two children dedicated. It will be a unique experience having all the grandparents with us to witness.

Also, our seven-year-old daughter will be coming forward this Sunday to announce her decision to accept Christ and to follow through with believer’s baptism. We had the joy of meeting with our pastor a couple of days ago — just me, my husband, and our middle daughter. She’ll be baptized on the last Sunday of this month. I’m planning on bringing tissues with me to church of course!

As Tasra Dawson mentioned yesterday (don’t you just love her?), motherhood is filled with so many days of mundane tasks — cleaning up spills, running out the door 10 minutes late, heating up last night’s leftovers in the microwave … again. Yet there are moments that sparkle with so much joy you know every second is worth it.

Yesterday I posted at Writer Interrupted a little about my mom and how my mother/daughter gift book came into being. Here’s what I wrote:

Nine years ago, my mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. It was a scary time, as she underwent surgery and chemotherapy. I wanted to tell her how much I loved her, but I didn’t know how.

So I started writing out thoughts in my journal. I called it “Tribute to Mom.” God miraculously healed my mom that year, although the cancer returned a few years later. Once again, I prayed, “Lord, how can I show Mom how much I love her?” I’d never given her the tribute because it was still just scribblings in my journal.

Then I went to a Christian writers’ conference, and a door to a publisher opened. I was invited to write a tribute book from a daughter to her mom. I wept as I went back through my long-ago journal and rewrote out my sentiments to meet the needs of the publisher.

These thoughts became a book, From a Daughter’s Heart to Her Mom: 50 Reflections on Living Well, published last spring by Thomas Nelson. Once again, the Lord spared my mom’s life, and I was able to give her my journal scribblings, polished by an editor, in book form.

My mom’s love for me came full circle when I was able to write that book celebrating the love of a mother and her daughter. As I worked on the manuscript, my mother-in-law graciously loaned me dozens of old books filled with poems, quotes, and art that helped inspire me to meet the deadline. To add to the emotional whirlwind, I was in my last trimester of pregnancy (a daughter), so I was completely surrounded by the love of mothers and daughters.

Whatever your plans are for this Mother’s Day, I pray that God blesses you with a love that only comes from Him.