Search This Blog

Sunday, May 13, 2018

M is for ...

My mother has been gone for a bit more than two years now. I miss her frequently.

So, M is for missing.

Mom would love to tease about her being self-sacrificing. You know, giving up that last piece of pie. Or going without a new purse so the kids can have shoes.

So, O is for others.

No matter where we lived or where we visited, Mom was always ready with tidbits of information and fun ways to learn.

So, T is for teaching.

One of the last times I saw my mom alive, we looked at her baby book. My grandmother had traced around her tiny hand, and I asked my mother to place her 82-year-old hand next to the drawing. Those hands have held mine, shaken hands of great and lowly, and served wherever she was planted.

So, H is for her hands.

Have you ever seen a mama bear? Watch out if you cross her cubs! Even though my mom was generally soft-spoken, she had no problem standing up for us when she felt we had been wrongfully treated. She was able to feel with us because she had lived a hard life herself.

So, E is for empathy.

I've often heard the contrast between religion and Christianity. Perhaps you thought they were the same. No. Religion follows a set of rules to try and attain someone or something. But Christianity ... the attainment was done for us by Jesus. When my little brother was dying of cancer and asked my mom what it would be like to die, she answered him, "First I'll be holding your hand, and then Jesus will be holding your hand."

So, R is for relationship ... not religion.

Thank you, Mom, for your sacrificial love. Your steadfast care. Your perseverance. Your love of learning. My heart's hope is that you are holding Jesus' hand right now.