Dear Mommy,

We come together to celebrate your birth. It’s the day that God granted you life here on this earth.

We come together to honor you. We want to express our love and gratitude.

70 years of life is an incredible milestone. I thank God for you so often because of all you’ve been through. 

But God had a plan.

Even at your lowest point, He grabbed you by your hand and helped you to stand. 

Thank you for not giving up on us.

It took so much strength and courage, I’m sure.

I can’t imagine all the overwhelming waves you’ve endured. But glory to be to God, He helped you make it to shore.

As we take this moment to pause and reflect. We want to lavish you with our utmost respect.

We hold you in our hearts so near and dear. That’s why we want to give you flowers while you’re here. 

-Rose

Flowers While You’re Here. We just celebrated my mom’s 70th birthday by throwing her a surprise party on June 6th. It was so beautiful and emotional. She was definitely surprised. Her reaction was priceless. I reserved a special moment during the party where me, my siblings, her best friend, and some her grandchildren came together and expressed our love and gratitude for her. Yes, it’s nice to throw a party and all, but I wanted to slow down a bit by being intentional and create a memorable moment.

God placed it on my heart to write this poem and to have a “flower moment” during the celebration. When I think about someone getting flowers I often think about funerals, when it’s too late for the recipient to enjoy them. Yes, I know that sounds kind of dark, but it’s true. Growing up I didn’t see people in my family receiving flowers much. Maybe on a special occasion like Mother’s Day, but never a “just because” day. I don’t buy flowers often for my mom or anyone for that matter. Maybe it’s because I don’t like receiving flowers myself, real ones at least. I thought this would be the appropriate time to do so, but in a more meaningful way. Instead of live flowers, I purchased 12 long stemmed fake roses from Amazon, Yes, fake because real ones die and I wanted these to last her forever. A couple of months before the party, I wrote down 12 characteristics that described our mom. I asked the family to choose one of those words and write something about how this characteristic of hers influenced their life.

As the moment approached during the party, I got on the microphone and began to read this poem out loud, in front of family and friends. This was the first time I’ve read one of my poems in public. I wasn’t nervous. I just wanted to express my love and appreciation towards my mom. It was as if only her and I were in the room. I’ve read a few of my poems to my mom at home. This moment felt as if we were just hanging out in her room. After I was done reading I heard someone in the audience yell, “And that’s not ChatGPT. It’s from her own creative brain!”🤣 It’s true. God gave me the gift and the words to write.

After I read my poem, my family began to line up. I signaled for one of them to come over and begin sharing what they wrote. Each one of them had a rose and placed it in a vase that was stationed on her table after they were done sharing. By the time everyone went up to read, my mom had a vase filled with a dozen roses. Each one with a special meaning behind it. They will serve as a constant reminder every time she looks at them and will be something she can cherish forever. I can tell it really touched my mom to hear the words shared. My family members also got emotional as they spoke. I believe it also made some of the guests in attendance emotional. They were saying how much love was shown and how beautiful it was.

Life is too short and tomorrow isn’t promised. We need to take the opportunity given to us each day to tell the ones close to us that we love them. Not just say it, but show it because love is action. We shouldn’t wait until a funeral to express our love and gratitude about someone. I know this moment helped get some of my family members out of their comfort zone. They took the time to either write what was on their heart or speak directly from their heart in front of an audience about how much our beloved mother, grandmother, and friend means to them. I was so proud of my youngest daughter for not being shy or afraid to take the microphone and tell her Nana how much she means to her. I initially had planned for her to just stand with me as I shared, but she caught me by surprise when she asked to say something on her own. I am glad she did. It was beautiful.

If you have a loved one who you have not spoken to in a while or don’t often express your love and gratitude towards them, take a moment to slow down and tell them. A simple call or text out of the blue would probably make their day. The last thing you want to have are regrets.

✝️“Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/116/exo.20.12.NLT