Letter to my Mother

Dear Mom,

I know that today is not your birthday, Mother’s Day, or you and Daddy’s wedding anniversary, but I am choosing this day to celebrate you because you deserve to be honoured every day, Mom. The fact that moms are honored on several dates throughout the year makes sense. It is entirely worthwhile. Holly Giffers rightly said, "When God created mothers, all as lovely as can be, He made one extra special and saved her just for me." That is such a brilliant quote because God created you, Grace, Jadesola Adedeji, to be my mom. He specially chose you and thought, "You will be the best mom for this beautiful child’. You did not fail, mother.

You have always been there for me, through thick and thin. no wonder It is often said that "life does not come with a manual; it comes with a mother". Although the word "mother" sounds simple, it has deeper meanings. I use the term "my mummy" to attempt to make it more intimate for me. My mummy, my first love, my first friend, my first teacher, my angel, the first human I connected with, the woman who loved me first, my role model, my superhero, my prayer warrior

Growing up, I didn’t appreciate the effort and sacrifice of motherhood. There's just a great understanding between fathers and daughters, so I was more of a "daddy’s girl". Daddy had the energy to always play with me, carry me, and put me on his shoulder, while you were always honest in saying, "Woo, I’m tired, go and meet your daddy’ looool. I still recall the moment Daddy visited me while I was in school and carried me like a baby in front of the entire class. You won't blame the childish me. I still enjoy being carried around like a baby (don't judge me), but you can make it right by carrying me whenever I come over to visit. You are strong, healthy, and flourishing in your 70s, so why not? looool.

When I became older, I noticed that I kept quoting you. At that point, I recognized that you are my role model, and I realized how big of an impact you have had on my life. I appreciate all that you have done for me. You are a strong woman who possesses God's strength. I wanted to quote Rudyard Kipling here when he said, "God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers," but I know that you would say out loud that God is everywhere. He is, indeed, but Mummy, you are a special woman created by God. Every day is Mother's Day, my beautiful mummy. It won't even be enough for me to fully express all you are doing here. I am extremely grateful that God chose you as His wonderful gift to me. He is a perfect God, and He knew I needed a superhero like you to birth me and guide me through life's path. I’m celebrating you right now, and I will do it every day I get the chance.

Thank you, mummy, for prioritizing God in everything you do. It did not make so much sense to me as a child back then, but now I have grown to know it pays to put God first in everything. You dedicated your life to God, and then you raised us in the ways of the Lord. I have seen you walk in faith countless times and you always let faith to overcome fear. My Christian journey is better today because the God you and Daddy constantly spoke about is real and I chose to believe in and trust Him too. I have seen God come through for you countless times. When I was younger, I used to complain a little if you were the one praying because it would be a lengthy prayer, but now that I am older, I know better and I am confident that those prayers were answered. You have always been a woman of faith and a woman who prays.  My prayer warrior, you are constantly on your knees making intercession, which has made my life better today. You taught me to be strong, fearless, and bold in faith when there is a problem. I witnessed you go through the worst situation possible, which should have left you permanently broken, but you clung steadfastly to God. Thank you for teaching me God’s word. You frequently came into my room, several times, to share God’s word. Sometimes I paid attention, other times I was distracted, but you never stopped, even till now. The best gift you ever gave me is that you taught me to rely totally on God—not that life won’t be life sometimes, but God will always be good.

I appreciate how you constantly make me feel special and beautiful. You always have a special way of calling me by my full name, and it makes me blush many times. You and Daddy were so intentional in naming myself and my siblings. You said names are powerful, and that is true. When life gets tough sometimes, I recall how you call me by my name, and it gets better again. I recall the time you shared my birth story with me. It made me feel special, I felt on top of the world. Yes, I know that every mother should be blessed to birth her child, but you have always made it a point to show me affection and reassure me that I am loved. Your encouraging words made me more confident when I was younger. When I was younger, I didn’t really care whether or not I was beautiful, but I heard from you so often that I was beautiful, and that influenced how I saw myself. It didn’t matter what society saw as beautiful, you were the first person to ever tell me I am beautiful. Those beautiful words came in handy when I felt inferior.

Thank you for your love and sacrifices. You have made such great sacrifices for my dad, my siblings, and me, as well as for everyone else. Mom, you are a rare gem. Even as a child, I had no idea how much money you were making, yet you always made time for us. I would complain when you bought me dresses I didn't like because I wanted to dress "in style" like some of my peers. Lowkey, you persisted in buying me big dresses. loooool. You made motherhood appear so easy. Back in high school, I recall you giving me a phone. I was so thrilled when you brought the phone to me when you got home from work that day. I was overjoyed. A couple of days later, I lost the phone. Even before you heard about it, I was in tears. I was devastated because I was aware of the difficulty I put you through in buying the phone for me. Even after learning that the phone was lost, you were concerned. You wiped my tears that day. Now that I'm an adult, I realize that everything you did was done out of love and selflessness. I was too young to appreciate your sacrifices. You were a working mom; you used to work nonstop, but you still found time to be present. You got up so early every day to cook and help us. There are so many beautiful experiences to talk about. Mama, you’re simply the best. Your love has made me a better person, and it doubled when I needed it the most. Your love is one of the only constants.

You are a woman of integrity, a virtuous woman, and a queen. Lol, how could I possibly fail to mention that you are a disciplinarian? Mummy, "no nonsense." Funny enough, I don't remember you spanking me other than the one time you tried. Just because you thought you needed to start spanking me, you went out of your way to buy a cane. I can't recall what I did wrong, but you took the new cane and was about to spank me. I dodged and hit my chest on the wall instead. (It was not really painful, but it was my turn to make you feel bad.) You flung the cane away the moment I yelled out in pain, and then I started walking awkwardly the entire day just to scare you more. You spent the most time feeling bad before you finally caught me walking correctly one day when I had forgotten, lool. My older siblings always joke and say, I met the calm version of you. (being your last baby). The look you gave me privately when you wanted me to act properly, or even the glances you gave me from a distance while a visitor was there, cannot be forgotten. Mama, you trained me well. I have grown to be a respectful woman because of you.

I appreciate your modesty. I appreciate you teaching me to be modest in everything, including how I dress, walk and speak. That was not easy, to be honest, but looking back, I am just thankful that I had someone watching out for me and able to mentor me. As a result, when I had to be independent, I did my best to act modestly. I never forgot what you taught me when I eventually left home to attend school. You helped me develop a fear of God, and that was extremely beneficial to me. Thank you for being a mother to our friends and everyone. Often times, when my friends came around, you would counsel them. Today, our friends occasionally reach out to you without telling us, and that simply demonstrates your virtue as a mother. You will live a long, healthy life and get to reap the fruits of your labor in Jesus name.

Thank you for making me a family-oriented person. Your devotion to your family is beautiful. You were responsible for my special childhood. Your meals are always delicious. I always enjoy coming home because of the meals you make. My upbringing was enjoyable and memorable because you love to cook, bake, and set the table. You made us to eat and bake together as a family. You helped me develop a strong love for my family. You adore your family dearly and would do anything to bring us joy and see the smiles on our cheeks. You taught us to look out for each other and love each other. You still call me and my siblings every day. Our happiness has always been your happiness. You enjoy entertaining guests, so I picked up the habit of doing the same for guests from you. I recall watching you host guests even when we had nothing. you always give exceptional treatment to everyone.

I also want to thank you for being the best mother-in-law. I see how you treat the spouses of my siblings (who are also my siblings) and my husband. You treat us all with love and regard everyone as your child. That alone made me a better daughter-in-law because you advised me before I got married to consider my in-laws as part of my family. You are so kind and understanding.

You will always be my mother, no matter how old I get. You are irreplaceable. I love you so much, mummy. I am deeply in love with you, and I am grateful to God for your strength, faith, health, and everything else. I thank God every day for giving me you as my mother. Thank you is a little gesture in light of all that you have done for me. I sincerely appreciate everything. I love you so much. 

 

Your babygirl,

Mosinmiloluwa.