I love my mother dearly, this is true, but of course there were those super fun teenage years where I didn’t always like her so much. She didn’t know anything. She used to say to me all the time,”I hope I live to see you with your own daughter.” That is exactly why I felt a itty bitty flicker of panic when it finally set in I’ll have a daughter of my own soon. Now yes, I was young and eventually grew up enough to realize my mom does know everything. She always has. She’s the most important woman in my life. I love her and I like her and I’m so thankful to have her in my life in such a major way. As I think about how I’ll have my own baby girl come September my mind wanders to all the ways Mom got it right. From the big moments to the smallest gestures she shaped me into me through just being her, and I want to be that shining light to Annie. I want to get it right. I could list far more but here are my top fifteen:
She was my stage mom with a level head
She taught me how to love the Lord above all else
She didn’t allow me to pierce my ears until age 12 (and then walked around the mall with me for a solid 20 minutes since I was so nervous I almost threw up)
She let me be myself
She showed me what a loving wife looks like
She taught me you’re never full dressed without mascara and a little lip color
She let me cry it out when I needed to and pushed me to get over it when I needed to
She laughed a lot and taught us to not take ourselves too seriously
She picked her battles and didn’t disown me after I ruined her antique coffee table with nail polish remover
She never allowed me to disrespect her
She never missed a practice, game, school presentation, show or event
She showed me how to be a real preacher’s wife
She never allowed me to quit anything
She spoke the truth even when it hurt
She sacrificed for me and loved me unconditionally
Katie Powell Bell 