What a year it has been!
365 days has already passed. Sharing stories, posts, novenas. Exchanging information, learning our faith and even finding out that there IS a village of Maronite Catholic Mums out there worldwide struggling with the same things that we might think mundane or insignificant.
I created Maronite Mum as a mechanism to find myself in my new role as a mother of 3 little kids under 4 years old. You see? I was born in Venezuela, a Spanish speaking country, and lived there until I was 27 years old. I studied all my Academic years there. Lived the culture there. Graduated with Magna Cum Laude honours as a Lawyer there when I was only 20 years old. I mostly practiced Family Law so I saw first hand all the pain and misery that broken homes causes in little children, but I also saw first hand the pain that separated homes caused in the couple fighting to keep apart. There is SO much pain in the world.
But then politics intervened. The country was changing rapidly and in a blink a unique moment presented itself in my life: a trip to Australia that was truly a holiday for a few months became a “try”. I decided to stayed for a year to see if I could find a better future. Law was worthless over there… there was still a glince very light of it, but not enough… not enough to practice law with moral standards, not enough to actually bring justice to the grieving part.
“Justice is the constant and perpetual wish to render to everyone his due” (Justinian)
That quote is the first thing you learn when you start studying law. But do you know what have I learnt in my last 5 years as a wife and mother? That whatever we have learnt we need to unlearn.
Yes. Unlearn that you are “nothing” if you don’t have a career. Unlearn that you are a stay-at-home for a little bit and then you’ll get your life “back”. We can’t lie to ourselves: there is no life “back”, once a mum always a mum no matter what. Your brain, your body and your heart changed the moment you carried baby in your womb… even if, heartbreakingly, the baby never make it through to your arms.
Motherhood is such a complex theme outside in the world because it is not clear your role as a mother. But when you go to God, when you read His Word, when you see the example of Our Lady and the so many Saints that were mothers just like you and me, THEN Motherhood shines with a different light: the light of the grace of God, the light of the Love of God, the light of the Promises of God.
You will never be satisfied with being a mum if all your motherhood is about “the next stage” and not enjoying TODAY with the kids that God has encomended you to care, protect and, furthermost, LOVE.
The spotlight of the world is nothing compared with raising the future generations of Saints for the Glory of God.
I try hard. And I am well aware of my mistakes. I have a mental record of all the times I could’ve done it better. Mummy guilt hits hard every second of the day but that doubt in yourself is not from God. When that doubt comes to your heart, pray, surrender your pain to the Lord. Keep going. Keep praying. God is with us.
And to you, THANK YOU! Thank you because I’ve learnt so much from you too while I am walking this journey. And together we walk following the road to heaven because, beside the village on earth, we have a village of Mother Saints in heaven, and specially, our one and only Immaculate Virgin Mary.
God bless you,
Liza, A Maronite Mum
Maronite Mum 