Back in August I wrote a post I titled A Special Kind of Love, in which I described the special ways my mother took care of me during those times when I was sick as a child, and how as an adult I eventually learned to take care of myself the same way. Today I want to tell you another story about a mother’s love for her child.
A while back I was coaching a woman – I’ll call her Wendy – who was struggling with ulcerative colitis. I wanted Wendy to see that she needed and deserved lots of understanding and compassion from herself. Wendy is married and has a very young son. Like most mothers, she would do anything for her son to help him be happy and healthy.
Knowing that, I asked Wendy to imagine that her son had grown up and was in college. I also asked her to imagine that he was struggling with ulcerative colitis. After she took a minute and did that, I asked her what she would say and do. She said that she would hug her son and tell him that she would always love him, that she would always be there for him, and that she would do whatever it took to help and support him so that he could live well.
Hopefully Wendy’s son will never develop ulcerative colitis. But since Wendy has it and is struggling with the symptoms and challenges of living with it, she needs all the understanding, compassion, and support she can get. From her answer to my hypothetical question, Wendy realized much more than she did before that she has lots of understanding and compassion to give. I strongly encouraged her to give them to herself, because she needs and deserves them. And if you have a serious chronic illness, I strongly encourage you to do the same for yourself. You deserve it!
