Did you know that all moms have a superpower?
It's called, "Let-me-kiss-it-and-make-it-all-better!"
It's also known as "I-would-step-in-front-of-a-speeding-train-to-save-you!"
Moms care. Deeply. Passionately. Too much at times.
From the moment we are aware of the life within us, we don our Supermom capes and with the wind blowing them out behind us, we take our stand firmly on the Mountain of Love, vowing to do whatever is necessary to protect this wee one entrusted to us against any pain or sadness.
And Lord knows we have to! I've never met a child yet who entered the world fully capable of taking care of themselves physically or mentally! As much as their crying and clinging and needs can drive us crazy, they also empower us with a feeling that we are Needed. Necessary. Able with a single leap to put that smile back on a child's hurting face.
So for 18 some odd years that super power grows. And it feels good. And it works!
Then the day comes when your child is no longer a child, but an adult....who's now busy guarding and caring for his own family. And his wife has her own Supermom cape, and ours has been relegated to mothballs. As it should be.
Until the day suffering comes crashing in...throwing loved ones left and right and leaving a wake of brokenness and tears in its wake.
And it happens to YOUR BABY!
And not just YOUR BABY, but YOUR BABY'S BABIES!
"How dare you?" we cry as we run to the closet, frantically searching for our discarded cape, mothballs rolling across the floor.
"Show me the Monster that dare hurt my child! I shall slay it with a thousand swords!"
And God knows we mean it with all of our heart...a heart that still lives and beats for the good of our child.
But the years have humbled us...we have lived too long and seen too much. Suffering and loss and shattered dreams have become a fact of life. And band aids and kisses will never fix the pain again.
What do you do at a time like this?
What do I do at a time like this?
I get angry. And I get angry. And angry yet again.
Angry that sin ever entered the world...that it stole what was once perfect and whole and good. And replaced it with pain and suffering and death.
We all have a longing in us for the way it was meant to be. And I think Moms especially operate under this power. It's what gives us the vision and strength to do and be all that is best for our children and family.
Until the day comes that we can't.