A Mother’s Heart

How one woman’s love shaped my children’s lives — and healed her own

Mother’s Day is a cherished day for me — but it wasn’t always.

For many years, it was a deeply painful one. I longed to become a mother, and each passing Mother’s Day reminded me of what I didn’t have. I still remember those years vividly, and today, I hold close the women who are walking in those same shoes.

Today, I want to honor a different kind of motherhood story — one that forever impacted my family.

Eight months ago, we lost our beloved godmother, Colleen.

I met Colleen when she and her husband moved into the house next door. They had been married for 40 years but never had children. Colleen always wanted them. Her husband didn’t. She hoped he’d change his mind. He never did.

We met during a chaotic season in my life — I was seven months into a high-risk pregnancy with twins. Even before we truly knew one another, Colleen was already showing up for my family. When my daughter spent 40 days in the NICU, Colleen was there. She organized a welcome-home celebration and was one of the first people to hold my baby.

And when she held my daughter for the first time, I saw something in her eyes I’ll never forget — elation, yes, but also a quiet ache. A lifetime of longing wrapped into a single moment. She had never become a mother. And my heart broke for her.

One might think that’s where the story ends. But in truth, that’s where it began.

Colleen spent nearly every day of the next eleven years with my children. Though her title was godmother, she became every bit a grandmother to them. We shared every holiday, every birthday, and every Mother’s Day — until this one.

At her funeral, we ran out of space to display all the pictures of the special moments she shared with my kids.

Without a doubt, Colleen was a mother.

Her story reminds me that God is big enough to give us the desires of our heart — even when they arrive in unexpected ways. I’m so grateful I got to share my children with her. I believe it was part of her healing. It was certainly part of our joy.

So if this Mother’s Day finds you waiting, or grieving, or wondering if your story is over — please don’t give up.

Your path to motherhood may not look the way you imagined.

But it can still be full of love. And it can still be beautiful.

As I finished writing this, a hummingbird came and hovered at my window.

I think Colleen agrees.