Pearl Pins

Welcome to Pearl Girls™ Mother of
Pearl Mother's Day blog series. The series is week long celebration of moms
and mothering. Each day will feature a new post by some of today's best writer's (Tricia
Goyer, Megan Alexander, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Beth Engelman, Holley Gerth,
Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, and more). I hope you'll join us each day for another unique
perspective on Mother's Day.

AND ... do enter the contest for a chance to win a beautiful hand crafted pearl
necklace. To enter, just {CLICK THIS
LINK} and fill out the short form. Contest runs 5/1-5/8 and the winner will on
5/11. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info
and see what we're all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities
that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing
a copy of Pearl Girls:
Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls™ products (all GREAT Mother's Day gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

And to all you MOMS out there! Happy Mother's Day!

PEARL PINS by Margaret
McSweeney

At age 49, I am a mom without a mom. This deep longing for my mother continues to
surprise me. During milestone moments, I imagine phone conversations with her.

“Can you believe that Melissa is graduating from high school in June? I’m so glad you
will be flying to Chicago to be here with us.” 

“Wasn’t that a fun family dinner we all had last weekend to celebrate Katie’s ‘sweet
sixteen?’ I am so glad you could join us.”

“Isn’t this exciting? I just got a new book contract. Will you please edit my manuscript
before I send it in?”

Sadly, this will be my eighth Mother’s Day to spend without my mother. She has missed
some poignant milestones in my life and in the lives of my daughters. Both Melissa and
Katie were very young when she died so they don’t have a full reservoir of memories
about Grandmommy Rhea. However, they do have the legacy of faith that she helped
instill in them as toddlers. She loved to send Veggie Tales tapes, Children’s Bibles and
devotional books. 

Melissa and Katie were blessed to have Nana, (Dave’s mother) around for much longer.
Nana passed away two years ago. A few years before Nana died, she gave me a beautiful
necklace with a diamond pendant made from her wedding ring along with a pair of
diamond earrings. She asked me to give these special gifts to Melissa and Katie for their
sixteenth birthdays. Even though Nana wasn’t around to celebrate, my daughters were so
happy to receive such special keepsakes from her. Hugs from heaven.

Last week on Katie’s 16th birthday, I discovered an unexpected blessing that had been
tucked away in a cardboard container of my mother’s things. A jewelry box with three
pearl pins! I gave one to Melissa as a belated 16th birthday gift, and I presented one to
Katie for her 16th birthday. This Mother’s Day, I will wear my mother’s pearl pin as a
tangible reminder that a mother’s love (and a grandmother’s love) is an everlasting gift
from God.  

Finding these gifts made me think about what I might leave for my own daughters
someday. It isn’t the external value of the gift that matters, but rather the love that it
represents.

Is there a special gift or letter that you would like to leave your children?

Margaret McSweeney lives with her husband, David and two teenage daughters
in the Chicago suburbs.  After earning a master’s degree in international
business from the University of South Carolina, Margaret moved to New York
City to work at a large bank where she met David.  Margaret is the editor
of Pearl Girls, author of A Mother’s Heart Knows and co-author of Go Back and
Be Happy. Charity and community involvement are very important to Margaret.
She has served on the board of directors for WINGS (Women in Need Growing
Stronger) for over eight years. For more information, find Margaret at www.pearlgirls.info and www.kitchenchat.info.