April 18, 1945. The day my mother came into the world. Nearly 1,000 British aircraft bombed a German Naval airbase, the Russians were storming Berlin, and 12 days later Adolph Hitler would commit suicide. Four and a half months later World War II came to an end. When I think about it, my mother's induction into this world was quite eventful!
I gotta love my mother because good, bad, or indifferent, I am who I am today largely because of her. She has been and remains a big influence in my life!
Life has never been easy for her. She was a preacher's wife and a mother of six children. She has had many proud moments and many sorrowful setbacks which I'm sure exceeds the norm.
There are several things you should know about her.
1. She is VERY strong willed. This is good and bad but I'm glad that she is not a push-over. She is tough as nails and the one of the most disciplined people I know! If she were a man she would be a cagefighter or a drill Sergeant in the Marines.
2. She is a VERY hard worker. Her stamina is unparalleled to match her ambition. I've never known her to get more than 4 hrs. of sleep and she has never been bored. Put her on The Apprentice!
3. She is an amazing housekeeper. I actually hate this because this has been hard for any woman I've ever had in my life to live up to. My wife is a good housekeeper too but she gets more than 4 hrs. of sleep every night!
4. Nobody, and I mean nobody, makes better Apple Crisp than my mom. Sorry, Cara!
Let me share with you seven life lessons that I have learned from her.
She taught me to:
1. Love God's Word. She claims that she doesn't remember making us do this but at one point in time she made us read 5 chapters a day when we were children. Yes you did, mom! I am enormously grateful now for it because it has become the skin I live in and the air I breathe.
2. Stay in church. She is rock solid about this. I think she was on to something!
3. Give to others. She was and is still always sewing, baking, and cooking things to give away to others, and often times anonymously.
4. Work hard. I think that she's actually a Spartan and just holding out on us! We always had jobs as far back as I can remember. Be punctual, be organized, and do more than good enough!
5. Stand your ground. Right is right and wrong is wrong. That's all there is to it. At least, that's what she used to tell me! Everybody that meets my mom tells me that they are scared of her (no joke!). Never look her in the eye, assume a sideways stance, speak softly, and never run from her! I have personally made the tragic mistake of underestimating her!
6. Keep on moving. Life has dealt our family more than a few devastating blows. Even when I've seen my mom get the wind knocked out of her I always knew that she would pull through for us. She always did whatever she had to do.
7. It's okay to cry sometimes. At times, life is just that hard! Cry your eyes out...but keep on moving!!
Happy Mother's Day, I love you mom!
Hmm! It's always interesting to see yourself through the eyes of your children. I would suggest that a parent never sees themselves the way their children see them. It's not always pleasant to see through their eyes but I think it would be wise for a parent to travel from the offsprings side for a while. I have learned TONS from watching or listening to my children (again, not always pleasant).
ReplyDeleteThank you for the tribute, son. I have had the joyful experience of knowing you before and longer than anyone else. I have had that express privilege of being able to call you, "Son" and truly delighted in it. Thank you for learning a life of being able to call our Father, Abba Father and having the desire to pass that knowledge and experience to others.
We are called to obedience and with that begets a responsibility to service to others.
"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all." Ec.9:10,11.
I have always and continue to say that of all women I have truly been blessed in this life. Thank you for being one of my greatest blessings.
I love you, son.
I really hope that I haven't offended you in any way with this. Although my remarks are filled with silliness, it's actually just a cover to keep from being too serious or emotional. Writing this was good for me as it brought back a flood of memories of attributes that I truly admire about you!
ReplyDeleteOffended? Absolutely not. Never gave it a thought. Silliness? That's a gift you received from your father. I like it. On the other hand. Your a gift I received from your father. I'm honored on both accounts. You wrote your thoughts well and any mother would have been thrilled to have heard this. I'm just amazed at the admiration, I guess. But, I'll accept it. :)
ReplyDeleteOkay, good! Just wanted to make sure. Maybe you're only amazed because I haven't said it enough over the years. Maybe I'm just getting softer with age. Who knows? Oh well!
ReplyDelete