I'm the oldest of 8, so I decided to beat the Mother's Day rush and call my mother yesterday instead. It was great - I had almost an hour of conversation with her without having to worry about all my other siblings not being able to get through.
But today, I'm finding my mind filled with other things that I wish I would have said to my mother in our call yesterday. So, I write a few of those thoughts as a tribute to my own mother, the mother of my three children, and to all of the mothers everywhere:
"She broke the bread into two fragments and gave them to her children, who ate with eagerness. 'She hath kept none for herself,' grumbled the sergeant.
"'Because she is not hungry,' said a soldier.
"'No,' said the sergeant, 'because she is a mother.'"
Victor Hugo
I remember now how many times my mother suddenly lost her appetite when dessert was placed upon the table, when there was just enough money to buy one package of fries, or when someone really wanted seconds.
I honor her for that, just as I see my wife do the same thing.
My mind goes back to a mother I met many years ago in the little town of Laoag, almost at the northern tip of the Philippines.
She was a widow, raising her family of several children, her siblings, several neices and nephews and her crippled parents, all from the few cents she was able to earn each day selling fried noodles in the marketplace.
I came to know her at a time of crisis in her life - her husband has just passed away, she had moved in with her siblings (who seemed to have no other means of support) and business was not doing well enough to support the large household. Over the next two months, I watched her growing thin, then emaciated. Eventually she acquired the charateristic stretched facial skin and extended belly that those of us who have spent time around true starvation know to fear.
She was literally starving herself to feed her family.
My heart was ripped to shreds. I gave her all of the money I could, but it didn't seem to help. I worked with her to encourage the extended family to provide more of their own support, which they eventually did, but things had degraded to the point where the situation was on the cusp of hopelessness. Could we keep her alive long enough to turn things around?
Eventually, I gave her the last of my precious supply of multi-vitamins, hoping that the nutrients they carried would keep her alive long enough.
Though it all I kept hearing the words going through my mind, "greater love hath no man than this, that he will give his life for his friends."
Several weeks later I returned home to the US. Since this lovely mother had no money to write, I quickly lost track of her.
It wasn't until several years later that I received a letter from her oldest daughter. The mother, thankfully, had survived, though her health will never be the same.
As it turned out, the mother had sold the vitamins to pay for a doctor's visit for a child.
Here was a mother who took the only route she knew to save the children she loved. And though I wished she would have handled some of her extended family issues differently, I will always honor and love her for that great example.
I heard a quotation today which reminded me of the mothers I respect most in my life:
"Motherhood is more than bearing children, though it is certainly that. It is the essence of who they are as women. It defines their very identity, their divine stature and nature, and the unique traits our Heavenly Father gave them.
"God planted within women something divine. That something is the gift and gifts of motherhood... They are born with an inherent right, an inherent authority, to be saviors of human souls and the regenerating force in the lives of God's children.
"A mother's calling... is to love and help lead the rising generation through the dangerous streets of mortality. Mothers... are the Lord's secret weapons."
Sheri L. Dew
My mother exemplifies these traits, as does my beloved wife and so many of the other wonderful mothers I know. As a son and husband, I thank my mother and my wife (let's face it, half of my wife's challenge is to mother her husband) for making me what I am. I will be eternally grateful.
And to all of the mothers who read this - thank you, from all of us, for making the world a better place. You truly are the Lord's secret weapons.
|
|
