It was an unseasonably hot, humid June day on the East Coast of the United States. Summer had enfolded us in her sticky arms, and the kids at Calvert Country School had decided that the most appropriate activity of the day was cooling off in the lawn sprinkler system.

Three friends and I, all part of the Family International, had been invited to this school for mentally and physically challenged children to participate in their annual graduation barbeque. We dressed up as clowns and spent the afternoon mingling, laughing, chatting, passing out balloon sculptures, and painting faces.

A highlight of my day was meeting five-year-old Melissa and her mother, Shirley. Alma, one of our expert face painters, was giving Melissa an orange-and-black tiger face, while Shirley sat on a chair behind her and gently held her arms to keep her from squirming. Melissa, a lovely little dark-haired autistic girl, always seemed to be looking off to the distance with a blank expression—always, that is, except when she turned to look up into her mother’s face.

“Pretty girl!” her mother repeatedly cooed when Melissa looked up at her for reassurance, and Melissa soaked up the love and approval with expressions of total joy. The tenderness and total acceptance that Melissa’s mother communicated to her daughter had my eyes misting up. Here I had come as a volunteer to give encouragement, smiles, and approval to each child I interacted with, and I found myself unexpectedly moved by this beautiful example of motherly love.

I saw other beautiful mother-child relationships during my afternoon at Calvert Country School, and was touched by the selflessness and unconditional love that seemed so much a part of each of the parents and counselors there. The experience left me with a renewed desire to communicate that unconstrained motherly love to my own young son each and every day.

God gives us a chance to feel His love in a very special way through our mothers. Happy Mother’s Day! ■

(Ana Alcasas is a full-time volunteer with the Family International in the U.S.)