My life has been impacted by women and I would not be the man I am today if it were not for the women who have become part of my story. Though some have been just drive-bys, sharing brief periods of time and shared experiences, they can bring a smile when I catch a fleeting memory run through my thoughts. Others have had such a lasting impact that I want to celebrate them this Mother’s Day weekend.
My first great love with a woman started 47 years ago when Milagros Farley gave birth to me. My relationship with my mother was one that I just always knew I could count on. She was the one who dried my tears. She let me be someone who shared his emotions and never made me feel less of a man because I cried. When I was older and would come home, she treated me like a returning hero. She would cook my favorite meals, have my room ready, and she would want to sit and talk. I miss her voice so much now that she has gone. I miss being able to talk with her about my worries, my fears and my hopes. My mother couldn’t fix things for me but there was always something about just having her there to listen that gave me strength. How do you encompass a lifetime of love in a paragraph…you don’t. Happy Mother’s Day mom…I will love you forever and I can’t wait to see you again my precious mother.
The next woman that I fell in love with was for a very different reason. Her place in my heart is special and will always be there because of what she did for me. This woman is my spiritual mom, Sharon Carter. One day, over 25 years ago, Sharon went into the pits of hell to fight for a young man who made a mess of his life. I was losing my battle with drug addiction. My will to live was fading and the darkness was becoming very dark. It took some 12 hours, which she willingly fought, as God used her to give me birth into His Kingdom.The Holy Spirit worked through her to peel the layers of my anguish away, until all that was left was a young man who could once again see that God still loved him. I remember her telling me, some time later, that for most of that day I could barely look her in the face. She went on to tell me, that after many hours into that amazing day I looked up and smiled. She said she knew right then that I was going to make it. Sharon took me under her wing and let me become part of her family. How do you put the depth of your thankfulness into a paragraph…you can’t. Happy Mother’s Day Sharon Carter from all of the kids that you have born into the Kingdom.
My next love affair with a woman has been my greatest. When my Jessica came into my life she turned my life upside down in a very good way. This beautiful blonde goddess turned her blue eyes on me and I did something that I didn’t think I was capable of doing. I fell in love for a lifetime. That young girl, from all those years ago, has grown into a stunning woman who I am proud to call my wife. Her light shines and by extension she has made my light shine even brighter. I have said of her, that she is the only person who knows me to the extent that she does and still chooses to love me. She has been my voice of comfort when life has thrown its hardest things at me. When I have struggled to believe that the morning would come, it has been her encouragement that has kept me. Her face is the last I see each day and the one I wake up to. That is how I want to live until I leave this place. She has been this woman to me while also having the room in her heart to bring our four children into this world and raise them with me in a home she has built for us to live in. She is the center we all revolve around. How do you put your greatest love affair into a paragraph…you don’t. Happy Mother’s Day Jessica Farley…you are, and will always be, my person.