My usual go-to Mother’s Day gift of choice is flowers, but I’m probably not alone in that.

They are just overwhelmingly available at this time of year.

I personally love flowers, so I still think they are a great gift, but I know moms usually deserve more than the first thing we can find at Kroger.

My mom certainly does.

I was blessed with a kind, Godly mother who wanted the absolute best for her three children (and now three grandchildren). Luckily, she knew that the absolute best for us is God’s will, which she prays for multiple times a day.

Her prayerful heart is one of my mama’s best qualities. She seems to never forget to pray, but those prayers are overwhelming more for her family and those around her than for herself. I know this because she has shared it with me since I was an infant.

She definitely has been a wonderful example of how powerful prayer is. She will be the first person to give God the glory for those everyday blessings in her life.

Besides her spiritual example, she is also a great real-life guide to how to be a wonderful wife and mother.

Her influence as the role of a wife has especially been important to me as I have taken on that role recently.

Most every conversation we have reminds me of how to be the best I can be, because it’s always evident that she is putting her family first.

She is always willing to answer the phone when I need to vent, ask a question or just be entertained. She often drives 45 minutes one-way to be available for her grandchildren whenever needed.

I know we all rely on her heavily and don’t know what we would do without her.

I may not look much like her or even have that much of her personality, but I’m glad to belong to her and my dad.

They definitely have the marriage I hope to have in thirty-plus years.

So, here’s to a mom who has fulfilled and continues to fulfill her duty as a great wife and mother. I don’t usually tell you, but I look to you for more than you know.

Thanks for all your love, help, food and spiritual guidance you’ve given me over the years. You still feed me, buy me little things I want, check on me when I’m sick, let me borrow your car and too many other things to mention for which I am truly thankful.

Joy Haynes is a staff writer for the Hartselle Enquirer.