anchors.

Not much talk today about sacrifice. We use it when it comes to the military, past and present, who sacrificed their lives for our country. It usually begins and ends there.

But there's a whole lot of personal sacrifice going on with everyday people like you and me. It's not readily noticed because to do so would diminish the very essence and intention of it.

Mothers are in this category. You are in this category.

If you are a mother of young children, you can be assured that your anchor is in place. You may feel that there is so much to learn and that's true. But the growth is not in the development of an anchor, you've already got one. It is the anchor going deeper until it finds complete stability. One day your children will grow up and lead lives of their own, requiring choices that are not yours. There will be happy times and sad times as you watch from a distance. It's easy to be happy when everyone around you does it the way you would. Not so easy when they don't. Especially if it's your kids.

Whether we realize it or not, being anchored, anchors them. We have spent 18 years advising, modeling, helping, teaching, guiding, sacrificing. The laying down of one's life has a cause and effect. It may not "speak" at this moment, but wait for it, it will speak. And for now, you may watch in sorrow and even horror at the choices your teenager and adult child makes. You continue to be that anchor. Steady, assured, dependable, and unmovable. God has designed you for this role and there is no greater privilege than to be a confident expression of this.

Don't lose heart, whatever you are facing. Be encouraged and go with your gut as you walk out each day. Above all things, love ... no matter what.  It is the greatest force on earth because real love is sacrificial, not dependent on the actions (or lack thereof) of the recipient. Avoiding, ignoring, disowning, escaping, and resisting will accomplish nothing. Decide now to face it head on. It is what it is. Now love. Love with an anchored strength that says, "No matter what I am here".