Happy Mother's Day

Today is Mother’s Day. I had a mother who was a true character. I learned everything I know about being a mother from her. Sometimes things were good parenting skills….others….not so much. I survived childhood with no outward scars and all of my children are now grown….and they don’t have any outward scars either. I was not a perfect mom, but neither was my own mom.  Parenting does not come with a manual on how to do it. I look at my children today and know that I did do something right. I think I have some pretty fantastic kids. I am a lucky mom. Frank’s sermon today used Proverbs 6:20, “My son, keep thy father’s commandment and forsake not the law of thy mother. He used a cute intro about mothers that made me think....you know it is true that mother’s teach us a lot about life itself. My mom sure did. She taught me foresight – "Make sure you wear clean underwear in case you are in an accident.” I always thought that was so funny. She taught me logic – “If you fall out of that tree and break your neck, don’t come crying to me.” She taught me maturity – “Eat your vegetables or you will never grow up.” She taught me about religion – “You better pray that comes out of that dress.” She taught me about contradictions in life – “Shut your mouth and eat your dinner.” She taught me how to be a contortionist – “Will you just look at the dirt on the back of your neck.” She taught me about perseverance – “You are going to sit here until you eat every last bite of that liver.” She taught me about weather – “Your room looks like a hurricane just swept through.” She taught me about the circle of life – “I brought you into this world and I can take you out.” I thought a little humor might just make the day bearable for me…and it has actually worked so far. I decided this morning that I was going to remember wonderful and funny things about my mom today and if I did then the day would be ok….so far…so good. Our bulletin today had a cute tribute to mom that is a bit more serious than my earlier comments. It goes something like this: “Half of what I think I know about mothers comes from having one. The other half comes from being one. Here are the most important things I've learned from mothers I know:

• Mothers are the people who take Jesus at His word when He says to forgive each other "seventy times seven."
• Mothers are the ones who still believe in you when everyone else begins to doubt.
• Never get between a mother and her cubs. Even if you are the father, you lose.
• The best gift you can give your children is to love their mother.
• A mother's prayers are more powerful than any force on earth or in heaven.
• A father may know best, but a mother cares best, and children will pick caring over knowing every time.
• We may pray to "Our Father," but the face of God we see, the hand of God we clutch, and the heart of God we trust, belongs to our mothers.

What a blessing to have a loving mother, one who takes her role seriously. Did you know that “by the time a child reaches 18, a mother has had to handle some extra 18,000 hours of child generated work?” It takes work to be a good mother. I admire Stay at Home Moms. It is truly a most misunderstood profession…and one of the most admirable ones. As I see my friends getting ready to retire….and know I can’t yet, because I don’t have enough years in….I remember that once I made a choice….to stay at home with my kids….and I wouldn’t take anything for that. I love being a mom. Happy Mother’s Day to you all.  Have a blessed day!

 

 

 

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