Here comes that annual celebration of Mother’s Day. What a nice reminder on the calendar to pause from our busy days and remember Mom. She loved us!
What an example she set: cleanliness: washing the clothes, the dishes, the never-ending housework, sweeping the porch, wearing your Sunday dress and then taking it off & putting on your every-day clothes when you got back home.
What words she said to teach us: sit up straight, don’t slouch at the table. Tell the truth. Eat what you took on your plate. No making faces at that new boy at Sunday School.
What encouragement she gave us: smile as much as you can, let little old ladies ahead of you, your report card is better this time, you ran your best in the race and next time you might win.
What prayers she said: in church she bowed her head and folded her hands, we knew she was talking to God about us!
What patience she demonstrated: waiting close by for that long distance phone call from Grandma, waiting for daddy to adjust the new television set, waiting for the rain to let up so we could go play outside in the puddles with our new boots.
Oh, there’s a lot more to remember, lots and lots of good stuff. Think about it.
Well, there were a few things we’d rather forget, but she was brave in pain, brave in going to the doctor’s office. She was brave to have all her teeth pulled out and didn’t show off her false teeth like someone else we knew!
Maybe today you could write down some memories that come to mind. Your memory might get a little forgetful later. It would be nice to remember the important stuff.
And, here’s the biggie. Mother’s Day is an excellent day for you to take a big step of faith, a time to rededicate your heart and life to Jesus. Your mother could tell you how quickly all the years of her life seemed to fly by. The time to consider the facts of living and the truth of dying is now.
It’s a statement we’ve all heard too often. “No one knows how long they have.” We’ve ignored it, mostly, because we are young and things are going pretty good for us now. But Mother would be so proud of us taking a quiet time in prayer: God, are you real? Are you There? How can I be sure of eternal life? What can I do to apologize for being less than 100% perfect? Do you really love me?
Some people might say, “What difference does it make?” But this would be a logical day to have an honest talk with the LORD about your life. +++
by Elaine Hardt ©2015
