Some stories need no comment

Here is the true story of a new mother, Mary Nordhal, recognizing who she was caring for…

My name is Mary, and this is my story. I’m a new Mom! 

This is something I have dreamed of since I was ten. The challenge came when she was newborn.  Everyone will tell you as you walk into the grocery store… are you ready for this, the sleepless nights? Yes, I am! It’s a season of life… it’s fleeting, it will come and go.

But when you are in the thick of it it’s a challenge! Two hours… every two hours she’s waking, she’s crying, this and that. Four weeks into motherhood I read this book… it’s called Your Vocation of Love. And so I am flipping through the pages and it’s reminding me of how I can make motherhood a spiritual exercise.

One of the powerful things I read in that book is that our purpose in life is to know, love and serve God. I have been called to the vocation of motherhood. So that is my purpose. To know, love, and serve God as Mom.

So, when I was lying in bed and I heard Lilly crying at 2 AM I didn’t just hear Lilly crying, I heard God crying asking me to love him and to serve him.  So as I walked into her room and her little arms were flailing about and she was crying, I comforted my Lord by comforting my daughter. With every small act of saying yes, I am brought that much closer to him in motherhood.

Taking it a step further, when Mary traveled to help her cousin, at an instinctive level, Mary realized that in supporting Elizabeth she was supporting God.

Recognizing who I care for…

• When I look at the homeless person holding the cardboard sign … Here I am Lord!
• When I am in the presence of a person who gets under my skin … Here I am Lord!
• When I experience people who do not look or think like me … Here I am Lord!
• When I… Here I am Lord!

Watch and listen to Mary telling her own story

(Courtesy of the Eastern Province of the Congregation of the Mission and the Central Association of the Miraculous Meda)l