Do you have someone you love? Sure you do. We all do. We were created to share our hearts and desire companionship.

With mother’s day just around the corner, I thought I’d share a little bit about two of the people I have loved the most in this world.

Inspired by the J&J Campaign called “For All You Love”, I wanted to share about my own mama and grandma. The campaign launched this week in advance of Mother’s Day, and it celebrates the selfless and unconditional caring of caregivers, including moms, and all the ways they care for those they love.

Grab a box of tissues and check out this touching video:

As part of the campaign, recognizing their commitment to the health and well-being of moms and kids worldwide, J&J is planning to donate $25,000 this Mother’s Day to Save the Children®.

My grandma isn’t here today to send a Mother’s Day card to, but she changed my life for the better and left this world with her ticket punched for heaven in 1995 – making me promise to get my life together so I could see her on the other side. I had only been married for two years then, and we didn’t have our first child until 1997.

I can’t remember a negative word she ever spoke about another person – even people that surely had hurt her and taken advantage of her. I always knew that she would give me the best advice – the “gospel” truth.

She was the most down-to-earth person I’ve ever met. Everyone loved her. She had mad skills in the kitchen. She always kept her house clean. She took other people in and cared for them – always putting everyone else before herself. Even though she was tired, and often carrying heavy burdens, she managed to volunteer at a nursing home, take care of family, and always bless everyone she knew.

Even when she was dying of cancer, she thought of them and their grief first. She took time to research grief and talk to each of us in the family individually about her wishes and how she wanted us to move on and live when she was gone. She planned her own funeral out, gave away her things, and told us she was ready to go. In the hospital, she never complained about the pain. Her doctor finally stepped in when he could tell she was beyond her limit of suffering, and he started her on morphine. She finally slipped away on her 67th birthday and we were relieved to see she wasn’t in pain any more, but felt a huge loss – as she was the rock that held our family together.

So many people came to pay their respects at her funeral that the funeral home had standing room only after about five minutes in to the service. The string of cars in procession with headlights on at mid-day caused the interstate traffic to stop for what seemed like miles. She looked like an angel at peace in her pretty suit with perfect make-up, but I’ll never forget how broken-hearted my grandfather was.

I love my sweet Mawmaw and miss her so much. I miss her hugs and the safe feeling I felt when I spent the night at her house as a kid. The whole world was right when she was around.

I couldn’t leave out the most important woman in my life on Mother’s Day weekend. My mama, eldest of my grandma’s three girls, inherited many of her mama’s best traits. She’s strong. She’s resilient. She’s one of the most selfless and genuine people I know.

All through my childhood, and in to my adult life, she’s always been there for me – and my children – and has been my biggest cheerleader.

None of us are perfect. She made mistakes, and so did I. She was always quick to forgive me for my mistakes, even when she continued to beat herself up over her own.

Just like her mother, she has a tendency to take in other people and try to help them solve their problems. She spends almost every penny she makes on other people. She champions the causes of others and doesn’t shy away from being a committed and involved friend – even when it is emotionally and physically draining on her.

She’s struggled with diabetes since she was in her 20’s and often gets so sick that she has to go in to the hospital, but she never complains about her own health problems. In 2004, she lost her vision in both eyes from diabetic retinopathy and had to get surgery so she could see again. Struggling with depression because of the hardships she has endured and dealing with multiple health issues, she continued to care for others – including her mother and father before they died. She’s a wonderful example of someone who has been dealt a difficult hand in life, and yet has done the best she could with it and instead of becoming bitter or playing the victim, she has found a way to bless and encourage others.

She works late hours and drives long distances as a piano teacher, and yet she’ll call me at 9pm with another hour and a half to drive before she’s home and ask me if I need her to get something from the store for my family. She also never fixes herself a plate of food without trying to make something for everyone else to eat… even if it’s the middle of the night.

I love my sweet Mama and am so glad she’s still here with me today – especially because she has fought against so many health problems in her life. I’m glad my kids have her for a grandma because she loves them and invests time in them, and I feel so blessed to have her as my mom.

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This weekend I’ll be sharing with the #ForAllYouLove hashtag and will include some of my favorite photos of my mom, my grandma, and other favorite people I love.

Want to join me? Follow me on Instagram (@sprittibee) and use the #ForAllYouLove hashtag on your pictures of your loved ones.

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In celebration of Mother’s Day this year, JOHNSON’S® Baby has established JOHNSON’S® Baby CARES Care Cards, a digital e-card platform encouraging moms to share positive messages of encouragement with other moms across the country, while simultaneously supporting Save the Children®.

You can help, too! Simply pick and share a card filled with messages of reassurance for a Mom in your life on Facebook at http://www.johnsonsbabycares.com. For every card sent, shared or liked, JOHNSON’S® Baby will donate $1.00 to Save the Children® (up to $150,000) to benefit early childhood education programs that foster education and reassurance for new moms. These cards will not only spread encouragement to Moms throughout the country but will also provide Moms in need with the skills and knowledge to successfully support their child’s growth.

Moms are wonderful. Being a mom is the hardest and the most awesome thing I’ve ever done, that’s for sure. I hope someday my kids will look back and think fondly of me – and selectively forget any mistakes I’ve ever made in raising them (Lord knows there have been many). Today while I have time and breath, I’m hoping I can pour myself in to them and nurture them so that tomorrow they can do the same for their own children.

Happy Mother’s Day!

In Him,

Heather

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Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by JOHNSON’S® Baby so they could share about their campaign with Save the Children®, but the opinions and stories are my own.