Mother of Millions

Wishing All Women a Special Mother’s Day

A few days ago, my sweet daughter and I stopped in at a local greenhouse to wander around for a few minutes before her nap time. I treasured those few magical minutes as nap time approached. As we were leaving, something I had never seen before caught my eye.

I grabbed a plant as we marched up to the counter and asked the cashier about it. “It’s called Mother of Millions,” she explained…and I was hooked.

“Each of those little things along the leaf are babies. They’ll fall off and root themselves” she was speaking my language, so obviously I went back and grabbed two more.

I strongly believe that God speaks to us through even tiny parts of nature, and this representation of Motherhood was moving.

I grabbed more plants not for myself (as much as I’d love a yard full of these), but for a some of the incredible women in my life who love plants as much as I do. I wanted them to look that this plant, and be inspired, encouraged, and reminded that we can all be mothers to millions.

These little plants really spoke to me – I was excited and even touched by the beauty that I saw in these. I’ve been inspired throughout my life by my mom and a slew of other women around me to be a great mother to my children and everyone around me, and I just loved the idea of this inspired reminder in my home.

My mom created a beautiful home where my siblings and I were blessed by her presence, we felt safe, loved, and she (and my dad) created three kids that were happy and whole. When it was our time to drop off the leaf, we were ready, and our roots dug down deep into the soil.

There was sweet Mrs. Rudolph—no children to call her own, but she was truly a mother to millions. I felt like I was her favorite friend as we sipped tea on her back porch on humid summer nights. She taught me to sing to her plants as I helped in her gardens and how to show love through small gestures as I grew under her tender watch. When we celebrated her life, nearly a decade ago, and said our goodbyes, I was in awe of a church packed to the brim—we all knew we were her favorite, and without sharing DNA with any of us, she was honored as a mother to all.

This Mother’s Day, I want to honor all women. I want to encourage you, even if you don’t have kids of you own, if you are young, or don’t officially share the title “mother” today — that you have the opportunity to bless, encourage, love, and be a mother to all.

To all the mothers out there — those of you who have cared for any one, blood-related or not, know that you are valued, you are loved. Happy Mother’s Day, may it be a day of celebration and relaxation!