Happy Birthday Mom!

Some days like today I wonder what I’m doing here in Kenya. The last five days I have been really sick and I’ve been trying to push through at work in order to teach the physios, give my in-services, help patients, and teach the exercise classes but my body is just hating me and I feel like crap. In addition, there have been so many patients that have come into the hospital and clinic recently that have broken my heart. I could go on and on describing their illnesses and diseases but it just makes me too sad to even talk about right now. On days like this I need encouragement and who do I get it from? My mom. Yes, I am almost 25 years old but I still love my mom more than anything and I still need her in my life more than ever before. She more than anyone else knows how to speak right to my heart so I dedicate this blog to her for her birthday ; )

My mom is my hero for a lot of reasons. First of all, she's one of the most selfless and loving women I have ever met. She has given up so much of her time and energy to help me throughout my life. I know there were countless sacrifices she made for my brothers and I growing up but I can't help focusing on all of the ones she's had to make most recently.  I think she thought it would get easier to raise me with time but I've actually become more difficult since I've moved to 5 new places since May (going on 6 here in 10 days) and with each move comes uncertainty and difficulty with transition and who do I call and vent to? My mom. It was so wonderful to have her in Kenya with my dad. She worked at the Rift Valley Academy near the hospital and the kids there absolutely LOVED her and they get so excited when they find out that I’m Mrs. Greenwald’s daughter! But she also played full-time role of encourager and cheerleader for my dad and I when we would come home from the hospital complaining and grumbling about our tough days working in a 3^rd world country hospital. Not only that but of course she’d have all of our water filtered/boiled so we could drink it and she would have the fruits/vegetables soaking in bleach so we could prepare dinner together. I’ve been struggling to survive on my own without my parents here!

My mom not only loves me well but there are so many ladies and families in the community that she loves as well. Her schedule is always full of such good things and all of the activities involve using her gifts to help others. She's a wonderful listener. A wonderful encourager. A wonderful supporter. A wonderful mentor. My mom is a mentor to a lot of young women and moms and she is excellent at it. Sometimes I can’t help but think what my life would be like if I would have listened to my mom’s advice all the time? I probably would have been sick way less time, stressed way less about school grades and shed fewer tears from broken relationships.

That leads me to my second point, my mom is so wise. She is such a talented writer and she is full of so much wisdom from so many books! I love it when she shares quotes and/or themes from books with me and speaks truth into my life through them. I’m reading a book that my mom recommended to me called “It’s Your Call” and in it there’s a quote that states “Jesus came with a mission and a purpose --  to bring life to others.” Then the author, Gary Barkalow, goes on to describe how we are supposed to do the same thing. My mom does an excellent job of this. She is “life giving” to me and the rest of my family as well as the other people in her life.

Third of all, my mom values the most important relationship in her life more than anything else. She loves and serves the Lord with her whole heart and she spends quality time with the Lord every day. She listens to the Lord on a regular basis and because of that she is able to give such wise counsel.  My mom is continually seeking out her calling from the Lord and is constantly spending time with God in order to find out His will for her.

I really hope and pray that one day I can be as humble, wise, gracious, and loving as my mother!