I’ve been inspired lately by mountains with my recent visit to Monte Sano. Mountains are awe-inspiring, majestic, and they cover about 24% of the earth’s surface. Taking in this breath taking natural wonder, I was reminded of the beauty and the majesty of mothers. Both mountains and mothers both possess great strength and stability as they are constant, immovable; they endure through storms and through time. Mountains are a source of refuge for wildlife, a shield for valleys from harsh winds, just as mothers protect their children. Mountains and mothers alike possess a quiet power, a power that doesn’t need to prove anything but speaks for itself. They’re a covering in every sense of the word—a mountain covering nearly a fourth of our planet; a mother covering her young in clothing, in protection, in prayer, in love.

What makes a mother? It’s not pregnancy, labor, or even upbringing, but covering. To be a mother is to be a covering.

My mother has covered me many times in my life; she’s defended me, protected me, helped me out more times than I can recall, and celebrated my achievements alongside of me. It didn’t matter what it was; she always made sure I had the best of the best there was to have. My mother has covered me in love from my very first breath of life, and I’m forever grateful.

Daniel and I have both been blessed with wonderful mothers. “Covered” is dedicated to the loving woman who never lets a day go by without covering the both of us in prayer, the woman who has covered her son in Scripture, in love, and raised him to be the amazing man and covering for me he is today.

Despite the health concerns that worked against my mother, she refused to leave me uncovered. She has fought to keep herself alive because for so many years, she was my only covering on this Earth. Thank you, Mama, for holding on for me; I’m forever grateful for the love you’ve covered me in.

The truth is, it doesn’t matter what we face; we will always be covered when we serve the God of covering. Undoubtedly it’s by His grace I don’t have to worry about a thing; undoubtedly it’s because of Him I’ve been covered all along in love.