What is a "REAL" mother?

A couple of days ago, my daughter who brought a beautiful baby girl into this world almost 2 weeks ago was telling me there is a Facebook page for mothers who believe that if you don't deliver a child vaginally you're not a real mother.  This gave me great pause, and I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be a "REAL" mother.

I was not  able to carry a child full term, so through the selflessness of birth parents, I had the great privilege of raising and loving 2 amazing children, who have called me "Mom" for the past 26 and 1/2 years. The fact the I didn't deliver them as these women claim to be the only measure of true motherhood, never disqualified me from my children's, love and acceptance.  I never thought for a moment that I was not duty bound to love my children unconditionally, care for them, teach them the things they needed to know, have fun with them, stay up with them when they were sick, listen to their dreams, comfort them when they were sad, pray for them when you felt like that's all you could do and never forget what a miracle and blessing children are.

My daughter brought her beautiful child into the world via C-Section.  She had a very difficult pregnancy, and she endured through some very hard things, to get to her delivery.  It was a miracle that my granddaughter was born healthy and that my daughter is doing well and recovering from her procedure nicely.  When I see my daughter holding her little miracle, feeding her, tending to her needs, and just loving her, I see her as heroic and I have never thought one moment that she was not a "REAL" mother.  

The problem with people who want to make something they've done, appear to elevate them to a higher level, "because that's the way it's supposed to happen" is that they forget LIFE happens to all of us differently.  Instead of pinning ribbons on ourselves, and patting ourselves on the back for the way our situation has turned out, perhaps we can focus on the things that make us human, and love each other for who we are.

A wise friend of mine shared this saying with me...I'm not sure who to credit it to but it is some really good advice we should all follow.

"Your job is not to judge.  Your job is not to figure out if someone deserves something.  Your job is to lift the fallen, to restore the broken and to heal the hurting."

I pray that as mothers, no matter how we gained the sacred privilege of being one, we unite in the things we have in common, support each other in our challenges, celebrate the joy our children bring us, and never forget, we are stewards of miracles.