Tuesday, May 15, 2012

The Love of a Mother



As Mother’s Day wound down I found myself having this thought: what if a child could approach her mother with a real understanding of all that’s gone into her life from her mother's perspective? All the sacrifices and prayer and love and pain and joy. And what if she had the wisdom of a mother while yet being a child and could knowledgeably say “thank you”? If one of my kiddos did that to me, I'd respond, “I’d do it all again.” 

That’s the love of a mother. Doesn’t matter what we’ve been through to see you through, we’d do it all again. All. Of. It. Why? Because we love unconditionally. And we wouldn’t want to miss out on you. You’re worth it. You’re our “pride and joy.” We’ve watched you sleep and kissed your forehead. We’ve snuggled you to chase off remnants of a bad dream. We’ve prayed over your fevered body. We’ve nursed and nurtured and cherished you. You’re our child. 

And that’s when it hit me: that’s how God, how Jesus, feels about you and me. If we had the wisdom and understanding and could knowledgeably say “thank You” for all He’s done for us, for the cross, for creation, for new life, for our future and forgiveness and freedom from our pasts, He’d say “I’d do it all again. For you. You’re worth it. You’re precious to Me. You’re the apple of My eye. I adore you. I love you. I’m so glad you’re Mine.” 

When Jesus walked the earth, He likened Himself to a hen gathering her chicks close to protect them. That’s a beautiful picture of mothering. And His willingness to sacrifice for us, the same. It’s the kind of unconditional love people respond to because we were made to. 

And even if we didn’t have mothers (or fathers) who loved us unconditionally, God can fill up that place inside us. He does love us unconditionally. We don’t have to earn it. We’ll never understand it. 

We just have the great privilege of embracing it.

Monday, May 7, 2012

A Tribute to Mom


 

My mom may never see this post. She’s not an internet kind of person. She doesn’t blog or have a Facebook profile. She doesn’t e-mail. But she has just taken up texting, which is a treat. 

The older I get, the more I think about how much like her I am. I’m the age she was when I was a teen. And raising my teens reminds me of her. I see pictures of those long-ago days (long, long ago *wink) and realize my perspective was so naïve then. Normal, I know.

Mom and I had a great rapport as I was nearing the time I’d leave the nest. Thank God it began to occur to me before the ripe old age of eighteen (when I moved out for good) that she was one of the most important people in my life. I cherished those moments. And I know, now that I’ve got kiddos nearing the edge of my nest, that she was probably cherishing the same moments from her perspective.

So, here’s a tribute to my hard-working, seldom-complaining, loving, faithful and faith-filled, nurturing mom. I’m so grateful for your gentle care in my life. You taught me how to be a tender mother. Thank you for all of your sacrifices. For committing your children to God. For your prayers. Your legacy carries on, even now.