5 Minutes for Mom is having a contest that allows me the perfect opportunity to share what being a Mom means to me.

As I have mentioned before, becoming a Mom did not come easily to me. 8 years of infertility took a considerable toll on me, especially when surrounded in a culture that places such an appropriately high value on family and motherhood. My mind and my heart were so focused on the desire to parent, to have that precious child to love, to train and to protect. Towards the end of the 8 years, I wanted to be a Mom in ways that I could not even put into words.

P1′s birthmom was an amazing person and we were blessed enough to get to meet her and her parents when she handed P1 to us for the keeping. She knew she was not in a position to provide the life she wanted for her daughter. She made her decision and stood by it while her heart was breaking. Such unselfish love is only found in a Mother’s heart…placing the wellbeing of her child ahead of her desires. We will be forever grateful to her and consider her a member of our extended family.

Once we had completed all of our official paperwork and were legally allowed to take P1 out of the hospital, we needed to wait for the hospital staff to be able to check her out. I then had the honor of waiting and watching her through the nursery window for a couple of hours. I had time to study her beautiful features, her head full of dark hair, her tiny fingers. I thought about all of the changes that were occurring in her tiny life and how I prayed that we could provide her the comfort and the love she would need to to overcome them. I wondered about what her life would bring, about her personality, her God-given abilities and prayed that we would be equal to the task of helping her excel in them. And I thought about how much I loved her. I loved every inch of her tiny body and I had yet to do more than hold her briefly. As the adage says, already my heart was preparing to walk around outside my body.

I did not give birth to that child. My blood does not run through her veins. But that makes not one bit of difference. I would do anything for her. As her birthmom did, I would put her needs above all else and I would protect her with my very life. Such is a mother’s love.