Dionna Sanchez:

I love being a mom. There is nothing more pure in heart than the love between a mother and her children. Children are so good at teaching us valuable lessons. You learn that you are constantly vulnerable because you are afraid someone or something will hurt your children. You learn to be humble because children are so good at making loud, innocent comments that can completely embarrass you. But I think one of the greatest lessons my children have taught me is what it means to be beautiful. I am not talking about mere physical beauty although I know that my children don’t care what size jeans I wear or if I’m having a bad hair day or not. I’m talking about real, bare, pure, inner beauty of the heart and soul. It touches me to the core. My children love me unconditionally. I can mess up and make mistakes but they will still love me as much as they did before hand. They can reach up and put their little hand on my face or give me a big bear hug to make me feel better. To me, that is beauty. My children can laugh all the way from the bottom of their stomachs and spread joy to every corner of the room they are in. They can find delight in having to eat in the car disguised as a “car picnic”. They can see the beauty in a weed that they’ve picked just for me.

I’ve learned that unselfish love is stunning. My children make me feel wanted, special, creative, brilliant, fun and they inspire me to be a better person.

Every woman desires to be beautiful. I found that beauty in the homemade cards made with sticky hands. I found it in the voice that calls “mommy” because only a vision of me can make their heart better. I discovered beauty in molding and shaping not only a human life, but character, values and morals in a human heart. Nothing else is as satisfying or fulfilling as impacting someone’s life! I’ve learned I am enjoyable for the mere fact that I exist in their world. My thoughts, my words and my love are beautiful to my children.

What does it feel like to be beautiful? It means you will always be filled with a consuming passion. You can hear and feel music in your heart even when there is no music playing because you are making precious memories. It means you always feel warm inside. I thank the Lord that He made me a mom so that my children could teach me what real beauty is and what it means to be beautiful.