By Marissa Khosh 
I hope someday I will be as devoted a grandma as my mom is. It is hard to put into words all the blessings she has lavished on her family over the years, first as a mom, and now as a grandma. Through illnesses, hardships, celebrations, and sorrows, she is there. Constant. Always willing and always giving, regardless of her ongoing health struggles.
When my sister’s daughter was diagnosed with cancer at 8 months old, my mom was there as a stand-in mom to her older two kids during six months of cancer treatments. As my sister made her temporary home in the hospital with her baby, my parents—Grandma and Grandpa—made their temporary home at her house to take care of and love on their other two grandkids.
My mom remarked on several occasions how hard it was at times, always with the disclaimer that she was so thankful to be able to do it. She told me that when we were all grown, there were many things she wished she had done better for us as a young mom. She thought she would do things differently if she could do it all over. And yet, here and now, with her grandkids, she felt the same struggles she’d had as a young mom. The difficulty of learning patience. The challenge of exhaustion. The lack of alone time.
In essence, my almost-60-year-old mom, now a grandma to four grandchildren, had once again become a full-time mother of two children under the age of 6. The challenges were real, just as they had been the first time she was a mother of young children. She didn’t make light of it. And yet, her attitude was that she was glad to do it. She was more than willing to do it even when she didn’t feel great. She gave of herself in love, even on the days when she was feeling crabby. Alongside my dad, she sacrificed with thankfulness, in devotion to her family.
Later, when my baby spent her first summer in and out of the hospital due to heart failure, there was my mom again, making the 7-hour drive down with my dad multiple times to help take care of my 5-year-old while I made my home at the hospital next to my baby. Sometimes they would go home after my daughter was discharged, only to make that 7-hour drive back when she was admitted again a few days later.
While I was absent from my older daughter, Grandma once again filled the role of mother. When I could not give hugs, Grandma did. When I could not make treats, Grandma did. When I could not enforce rules, Grandma did. And when Grandma just wanted to be in her own home, when she scarcely had time to catch her breath before being called back, when she was tired, she came anyway. She came because she is endlessly devoted to her family. Her love knows no bounds or limitations for her children and grandchildren.
They say being a mother is the most important job you can have, and that your family is your greatest ministry. I have never seen that illustrated more clearly than when I look at my mom. She has truly ministered to my family and my sister’s family, over and over again.
I haven’t mentioned the time she and my dad hurried to make a 10-hour drive to me when I experienced the complications of a molar pregnancy. Then, too, she took care of my older daughter as I went in for emergency surgery, and afterward as I recovered. I haven’t mentioned the time she and my dad drove down on just a couple of days’ notice to help me during an exceptionally challenging time with my older daughter, when I was four months pregnant and barely sleeping. She was willing to lose sleep, getting up with her sleepless granddaughter overnight so I could get more rest.
I haven’t mentioned the times I miscarried and she listened to me with empathy and a complete absence of judgment during the loss of her unborn grandchildren, even though she never experienced miscarriage herself. I haven’t mentioned the six times she has been there for my sister and me when we gave birth to her grandbabies, or how she’d stay for weeks in our homes to help while the family adjusted to its new member. I haven’t mentioned the time she took my sister’s oldest child into her home a few states away for several weeks when my sister had pregnancy complications that restricted her from lifting a toddler.
My mom will be the first to tell you she is far from perfect. But she is filled to the brim with faith and love, and it overflows onto those around her. She has never said no to one of her children or grandchildren in need, despite whatever her situation may be. She will give to her family for as long as God gives to her because that is who she is and that is who God made her to be. God created her to be a devoted mom and grandma, and He made a true blessing when He made her.
by Britt LeBoeuf 
by Her View From Home 
