Happy Mother's Day, dear friends! 🌸💕

Mother's Day always stirs something deep in my heart, and this year I just felt led to share a little piece of my own story with you, because I think it might touch some of your hearts as well.

I was never able to have biological children of my own. For a long time that was a quiet ache that I carried, one of those tender and private griefs that so many women know all too well. I wondered if motherhood was simply not meant to be part of my story.

But... God had other plans. 💕

One day, a beautiful and broken young girl came into our lives. She carried with her a heart full of wounds and a story that had already known far too much pain for someone so young. We did not know then just how profoundly she would change our lives forever. But as the years passed and she settled into our home and into our hearts, it became crystal clear: she was ours, and we were hers. And so we made it official. We adopted her. 🌸

I wish I could adequately put into words what that moment meant.

That young girl — my daughter — has faced battles that would have brought many people to their knees. She has walked through fires that were not of her own making, carrying wounds from her earliest days. But she did not just survive. She absolutely thrived.

Today she is a breathtakingly beautiful woman — a devoted and loving wife, and the most wonderful mother to six precious children. Six! I tease her all the time that she has more than made up for me not having any children of my own, and we laugh about it together! 😄💕 But in all seriousness, when I look at her and the life she has built — the love she pours out every single day despite everything she has been through — I am completely overwhelmed with pride and gratitude.

Her price is truly far above rubies. 💎

She is, in every sense of the word, a Cinderella story — and I have the absolute joy and privilege of calling her my daughter. I am so proud of her that my heart could simply burst. I want the whole world to know it! 🌸

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But I also want to pause here for a moment and speak tenderly to those of you for whom today may feel a little heavy. 💕

Mother's Day is not a simple and happy day for everyone, and I never want to gloss over that. Perhaps you have longed with all of your heart to be a mother but that dream has not yet come — or has not come in the way you imagined. I see you, and your longing is valid and real and it matters deeply. 🌸

Perhaps you have lost your mother, and today feels like a raw and gaping hole where she used to be. (I lost my own mother 6 years ago, and today always brings back memories and I miss her dearly.) Grief has its own calendar, and anniversaries like today can bring it rushing back fresh and sharp. Your love for her is so beautiful, and missing her is a testament to that love. 💕

Perhaps your relationship with your own mother is painful or complicated or even estranged. Not every mother-child story is a happy one, and if that is your reality, please know that there is absolutely no judgment here — only compassion and love. You are not alone in that. 🌸

And perhaps, like me, motherhood came to you in a completely unexpected and unconventional way — and you have discovered that love does not require biology. Family is so much bigger and broader and more beautiful than we sometimes imagine. 🌸

Whatever your story is today, — wherever you find yourself on this Mother's Day — please know that you are seen, you are loved, and you are so very valued. 💕

And on that note, let's talk about some wonderful books, shall we? Because I have some beautiful romance reads to share with you today that I just know you are going to love! 📚🌸

Love,

Anna Bethany