Haar waarde is meer werd as korale…

Sy het ñ kernrol - Sy is die een wat ñ jong lewe bewaar in haar moederskoot vir 9 maande, en die jare daarna op vele ander maniere beskerm….

Met vele opofferings, baie uithouvermoë, ongesiene trane, en veel meer gebede is haar liefde onvoorwaardelik.

Haar titel wat sy daagliks trots dra:

Mamma, Moeder, Ma….

Sy is die een wat nagte om jou styf teen haar bors vasgedruk het toe jy ‘n pap babatjie was, met oë vol liefde en deernis na jou omgesien het terwyl die wêreld stil raak. Soms het sy alleen in haar eie wêreld gevoel, en gewonder hoe gaan sy jou groot kry. Maar Mammas kan baie dinge doen, en om jou groot te kry is een van hulle waarop sy trots is - baie trots is.

Op ñ 27-jarige ouderdom het ek my Mammie, soos ek haar noem, steeds só nodig. Wanneer ek siek voel, rol ‘n traan oor my wang bloot vir die feit - ek soek my MA! En ek besef die groot & sterk fondasie wat ‘n Ma neerlê….

ñ Voorreg, ñ enorme voorreg om vandag steeds my Mammie te hê en ñ Mamma te wees.

Dis weer Mei-maand. Moedersdag-maand…

As jy nog van die gelukkiges is wie se Mamma hier is, waardeer haar. Druk haar, soen haar. Stuur ‘n boodskap en bel haar. Neem haar soet-stem in.

’n Ma is die draer van alles wat veronderstel is om haar te breek. Sy is die anker in die storms wat wild woed in en om haar huis, al is sy self broos en kwesbaar.

Maar in elke môre vind sy nuwe krag om oor te begin. Haar moeë liggaam kry nooit die rus wat dit verdien nie. Sy moet buigsaam wees, en nederig. Sy hou aan om te gee, sonder om te verwag.

As jy na haar soek in die oggend, werskaf sy in die kombuis, wanneer almal slaap sleep haar voete deur die huis om op te ruim en daardie laaste bondel wasgoed op te vou of nog iewers iets netjies te maak.

Sy gee vrylik

Sy is die opvoeder

Sy is die tuisteskepper

Sy is die vrou, die hoeksteen en anker van die gesin.

Jy sal haar nie sommer hoor kla nie.

Sy is sag en uit liefde aan mekaar geweef, waar tyd, geduld en liefde geen perke ken nie.

Haar trane word voor die Here gestort, en deur alles waarmee sy ook worstel, bly sy die gom wat alles bymekaar hou, kom wat wil.

Moeders moet vereer word - nie net een keer ñ jaar nie.

Maar daagliks, want sy is meer werd as korale.

Opgedra aan my Moeder, Susan. Dankie Mammie - ek sou nie kon wees wie ek is sonder Mamma se fondasie nie.

Deep dive after miscarriage

Scripture: Lamentations 3:19-24

“I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness, and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.”

Maybe your grief is fresh and raw and you’re still reeling from the suffocating blow of a recent miscarriage, just like me. Or maybe you’ve long ago buried a secret grief but something within is probing you to lean into the pain once again. I can’t answer the cosmic “why” of your miscarriage, but I can validate and help you understand your pain and grief. I want to link my arm with yours in hope as we look together toward the day when Jesus makes all things new.

I discovered something refreshing and helpful in the early days after my miscarriage when grief came pounding with incredible force: If I didn’t dive deep, the waves of grief would absolutely crush me and drown me. The apostle Paul calls it being “hidden with Christ” (Colossians 3:3).

I call it surviving.

As I began to practice my own deep dive after losing our daughter, Amelia Lilly, to miscarriage, at 6 months and everything that transpired during the miscarriage (after already having listed two babies), I discovered this was actually more than survival. It was an invitation: Would I find Jesus in the deep?

It’s normal to be filled with questions when experiencing personal trauma. Why me? Why does this have to happen again? What have I done to deserve this? Is this my fault? Have I not suffered enough? Does God still love me, and if He does, why must I endure this pain and loss again? Why would God let this happen? Is he punishing me for something? What if God isn’t who I thought he was? How can I go on with life as I once knew it? Will I ever feel normal again? Is God—or his goodness—even real? What if my whole faith is a sham?

Because the grief, frustration, and pain of miscarriage often go unspoken, these types of questions can eat away at the soul and confidence of a woman as she tries to shoulder the burden of them in secret. We pretend to hold it all together, we keep busy to not think about or feel the pain. We avoid people and places, to minimize the outpour of looks, questions, advice, condolences, and the “I know how you feel” moments.

But I must tell you this: It might seem impossible, but you can do this. You can lose and grieve and hope. The power of grief can, and sometimes will, sweep us off our feet. But we can learn how to breathe under the deep. We may even learn to open our eyes there. We can grieve with hope. We may be brokenhearted or even crushed, but we will not be destroyed.

We might even find that, in our weakness, we’re stronger than we think.

Just keep moving, one foot in front of the other. And if you falter and stumble, reach ahead and grab onto God’s hand. He is always waiting for that outstretched hand. He will wrap his hand around yours, hold you steady, and walk with you.

Take a breath, fill your lungs with fresh newness, and exhale the pain, frustration, anger, and hurt.

And remember, it is okay to not be okay. It is fine to take your time to deal with and heal. No one person, in this world, heals at the same pace. There is no time limitation to trauma or pain, so take your time, however long it may take.

And don’t let anyone tell you, to stop wallowing, to stop feeling sorry for yourself, to move on, that you are not the first or last woman to lose a baby…and if you do encounter these naïve people, step back, exhale and give it all to God.

I am with you in this, and we will get through this. Remember how powerful, graceful, kind, amazing, and beautiful you are, always.

Love and respect,

Leatitia Coetzee

Mamma, you’ve got this!

Maya Angelou het eens gesê- "To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power." -

Okei, so die laaste paar maande voel ek as mamma so bietjie soos ‘n hurricane. Ja, so bietjie stormagtig. Ek vra myself kort-kort af- doen ek genoeg as mamma? is ek goed genoeg en maak ek die regte besluite vir my kind?

As enkel mamma van ‘n amper-tiener raak ek daagliks angstig oor skedules, eetgewoontes, allergiee, maats, skoolwerk en die lys gaan net aan… MAAR dan gebeur die klein dingetjies waar my kind my verras met ‘n mooi woordjie, ‘n drukkie, ‘n goeie rapport- en ek besef net opnuut…

HAAL ASEM MAMMA…YOU’VE GOT THIS!!!

Mooistevrou, as jy ‘n mamma, stief-mamma, amper-mamma, ouma-mamma, juffrou-mamma (ag selfs sommer net ‘n honde-mamma) is wil ek jou vandag herhinner dat jy ‘n amazing werk doen. Om ‘n mamma te wees is een van die mees challenging rolle in die wereld en jy doen amazing!!!

Ek weet dat dit soms uitputtend en overwhelming voel MAAR jy doen meer as goed genoeg en jy moet beslis trots wees op jouself.

Jy soen boe-boes, jy maak etes, jy help met huiswerk en jy is die local taxi. Jy leer jou kinders belangrike lewenslesse, jy leer hulle om gaaf te wees en om op te staan vir hulleself. Jy luister na jou kinders se stories, drome en vrese. Jy is hulle veilige plek, ondersteunings raamwerk en rolmodel.

Jy is meer as mamma…jy is ‘n sterk, selfstandige vrou met drome en talente van jou eie. Jy mag dalk soms vergeet hoe amazing jy is maar ek wil jou vandag aanmoedig om nie op te hou om jou eie passies en drome ook na te jaag nie. Jou kinders baat daarby om hulle mamma, hulle rolmodel, te sien floreer.

So hou moed mamma. Jou harde werk en toewyding aan jou kinders maak ‘n verskil in die wereld al voel dit nie altyd so nie. Onthou om ook na jouself te kyk, gee jouself krediet vir alles wat jy doen want jy is dit werd.

MooisteMamma jy en jou veerkragtigheid is ‘n testament van God se krag en liefde. So haal asem mamma want YOUVÉ GOT THIS!!!