![\"\"](\"https:\/\/carolynhidalgo.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/mother.jpg\" "\\"mother\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nIt all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way \u2028one of the kids will walk into the room while I\u2019m on the phone and ask to be\u2028taken to the store. Inside I\u2019m thinking, \u2018Can\u2019t you see I\u2019m on the phone?\u2019\u2028\u2028Obviously not; no one can see if I\u2019m on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping \u2028the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see\u2028 me at all. I\u2019m invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of\u2028 hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? \u2028\u2028Some days I\u2019m not a pair of hands; I\u2019m not even a human being. I\u2019m a clock \u2028to ask, \u2018What time is it?\u2019 I\u2019m a satellite guide to answer, \u2018What number is \u2028the Disney Channel?\u2019 I\u2019m a car to order, \u2018Right around 5:30, please. \u2018\u2028\u2028Some days I\u2019m a crystal ball; \u2018Where\u2019s my other sock?, Where\u2019s my phone?,\u2028What\u2019s for dinner?\u2019 \u2028\u2028I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes \u2028that studied history, music and literature -but now, they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She\u2019s going, she\u2019s going,\u2028 she\u2019s gone!\u2028\u2028 One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a\u2028 friend from England. She had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she\u2028 was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there,\u2028looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to\u2028compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she\u2028turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, \u2018I brought you \u2028this.\u2019 It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn\u2019t exactly\u2028sure why she\u2019d given it to me until I read her inscription: \u2018With admiration\u2028for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.\u2019<\/p>\n
In the days ahead I would read \u2013 no, devour \u2013 the book. And I would discover\u2028what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could\u2028pattern my work: 1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals \u2013 we have \u2028no record of their names. 2) These builders gave their whole lives for a\u2028work they would never see finished. 3) They made great sacrifices and \u2028expected no credit. 4) The passion of their building was fueled by their \u2028faith that the eyes of God saw everything.\u2028\u2028 A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the \u2028cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird \u2028on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, \u2018Why are you \u2028spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by\u2028 the roof, No one will ever see it and the workman replied, \u2018Because God\u2028 sees. \u2018\u2028\u2028I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost\u2028 as if I heard God whispering to me, \u2018I see you. I see the sacrifices you \u2028make every day, even when no one around you does.\u2028\u2028 No act of kindness you\u2019ve done, no sequin you\u2019ve sewn on, no cupcake you\u2019ve \u2028baked, no Cub Scout meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me to\u2028 notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can\u2019t see\u2028 right now what it will become.\u2028\u2028 I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of\u2028 the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work \u2028on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went\u2028 so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime\u2028 because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. \u2028\u2028When I really think about it, I don\u2019t want my son to tell the friend he\u2019s\u2028 bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, \u2018My Mom gets up at 4 in the \u2028morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3 \u2028hours and presses all the linens for the table.\u2019 That would mean I\u2019d built a\u2028 monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there \u2028is anything more to say to his friend, he\u2019d say, \u2018You\u2019re gonna love it \u2028there\u2026\u2019\u2028\u2028As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we\u2019re \u2028doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel,\u2028 not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the \u2028world by the sacrifices of invisible mothers.\u2028\u2028 Thank you to all the Moms who are looking down and smiling at the cathedrals \u2028they helped to build.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sharing one of my favourites\u2026 invisible mother\u2026the only word I\u2019d change is \u2018sacrifice\u2019 to one of \u2018giving\u2019\u2026live from your heart to enjoy this marvellous journey not from duty or obligation, but from love. Happy Mothers Day! It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way \u2028one of the kids […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[58,59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith-letting-go","category-freedom-forgiveness"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolynhidalgo.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolynhidalgo.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolynhidalgo.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolynhidalgo.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolynhidalgo.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/carolynhidalgo.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9441,"href":"https:\/\/carolynhidalgo.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148\/revisions\/9441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolynhidalgo.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolynhidalgo.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolynhidalgo.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}