Mariam Delgado, TV and radio host, speaker, writer and pastor of Alpha & Omega Church in Miami. Photo courtesy of Mariam Delgado.[/caption]
By Mariam Delgado
Mother’s Day is a day to honor the women who gave us life, and also the women who helped raise us: grandmothers, great-grandmothers, aunts and mothers of the heart who loved us as their own.
I hope they get flowers, hugs and all the love they deserve. But more than gifts, I want to take a moment to talk about what this work really asks of us.
Being a mother may be the most important job in the world. We are raising the next generation.
And I know it is not easy. I honor the women who became mothers as teenagers, the mothers who are far from their children because of immigration circumstances, and adoptive mothers, whose love goes far beyond blood.
So much of what mothers do is never seen.
I remember when my children, Verónica and Albertico, were babies. Verónica was calm, but Albertico kept us awake for months with colic. I would go to work with dark circles under my eyes, exhausted from trying to keep up with everything.
Many of you know that kind of tiredness. The kind where you almost fall asleep in front of the computer after being up all night with a child, and then still have to find the energy to help with homework after a long day at work.
As women, we learn to do many things at the same time. We can close a deal with a client while caring for a child or getting dinner ready. But that pressure we carry often comes with something very heavy: guilt.
My first piece of advice today is simple: let go of the guilt.
If you had to work and missed moments from your children’s childhood, do not punish yourself. You did the best you could with what you had at the time. You are a good mother because you worked to give them stability and a future.
Second, do not live in worry.
It is normal to worry about our children’s future, especially when they grow up and start families of their own. But we have to learn to let go of what we cannot control.
Peace comes when we trust that the values and love we planted in them will bear fruit in time, even if their path takes a turn we did not expect.
Finally, set your priorities.
The world asks us to be perfect at work, at home and even in the mirror. But what matters most is the emotional and spiritual legacy we leave behind. Teaching our children to be sensitive, honest people with faith is one of the greatest investments we can make.
I take my hat off to you.
May this day remind you that your work matters deeply. Even with all the challenges, being a mother is one of the most beautiful and life-changing experiences a woman can live.
Happy Mother’s Day!
- Mariam Delgado is a TV and radio host, speaker and writer. She is pastor of Alpha & Omega Church in Miami, founder of the “Yo Soy Más” movement and host of #MujerUnicaPodcast.
Instagram: @mariamjdelgado
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