Happy Mother’s Day!

This weekend we thank God for our mothers. How very good it is of God to place our lives in the tender hands of someone with flesh and bone who loves us almost as much as He does. Someone who feels tenderly toward us from the moment she first lays eyes on us and continues to carry us close to her heart as we pass through each stage of life.

What would we do without mothers? It seems to me that God made mothers to do some very specific things in our lives that no one else can do quite as well.

Mothers wipe us up. They wipe our sticky faces and our messy hands. They wipe our bloody knees and elbows. They wipe off the table, wipe up our spills, wipe our runny noses and wipe away our tears. Basically mothers keep us cleaned up.

Mothers yell. They holler for us to come to dinner. They squeal with glee when we pick them a bouquet of flowers. They hoot and holler at our ballgames. They yell to be heard over the television. They shout for joy when we graduate. And they speak highly of us to their friends. Basically they’re loud.

Mothers stay up late. They nurse us in the wee hours when we’re babes. They sit up with us until our fever breaks. They stay up to build volcanoes out of paper mache, bridges out of popsicle sticks, solar systems out of foam balls, and costumes out of feathers. They wait up for us to return from dates, ball games, school trips, and after-school jobs. Basically they’re really tired.

Mothers pin things. They pin on diapers. They pin on badges and team numbers. They pin up our hair. They pin up hems (and sometimes forget to take the pins out – ouch!) They pin up newspaper clippings. They pin on corsages. Basically they’re really good at making things stick.

Mothers decorate. They do up the nursery. They hang balloons and streamers for parties. They create faces on your pancakes with fruit. They tie ribbons in your hair. They hang your artwork on the fridge. They decorate the Christmas tree – often all by themselves! Basically they make everything look really nice.

Mothers pack. They pack diaper bags, lunch boxes, back packs, and overnight bags. They pack picnic baskets and coolers. They pack up the clothes you’ve outgrown and give them away. They pack up care packages and send them to camps, colleges, army bases, and prisons. They pack up your trophies and yearbooks and put them in the attic. Basically they know how to put a lot of good stuff in a container.

Mothers know where things are. They can quickly locate things like aspirin, band-aids, beach towels, your tennis racquet, and your library card. They know the mayonnaise is in the refrigerator door, third shelf down, behind the salad dressing. They could direct you through Target blindfolded and they know where the bathroom is in every store and restaurant. Basically, they are almost omniscient.

Mothers pray… a lot. They pray for “this baby to go to sleep!” They pray that all those big kids on the other team will not clobber their five-year old. They pray that their 10-year-old will behave at his grandparent’s house. They pray for you to have good teachers, safe bus drivers, fair coaches, and wise doctors. They pray even more when you get your driver’s license, your first job, your first apartment, your first baby. They pray for patience, wisdom, courage, and more patience. Basically they spend a lot of time saying, “Dear Lord!”

Yes mothers do an awful lot for us. From the time we are wee infants until the time they, or we, part this earth, they give and give and give. So whether your mother is here with you today or miles away, whether she lives down the road or in a mansion in heaven, thank God for your mother. Basically she is pretty wonderful!

This is a little diddy I wrote for Mother’s Day a few years ago and read in our church that morning. Because I’m still a little addle-brained (read Monday’s post, if you really need to know…), I decided to share it with you today.

I didn’t want to miss this opportunity to thank my mother, Louise, for all she does and has done for me and my family. She is simply the very best mother God could have chosen for me. I would have wanted no other. Happy mother’s day Mom!

To all you moms out there, have a blessed day. Enjoy it for what it is – breakfast in bed with burnt toast and cheerios, etc. But remember that we are really the lucky ones every day. For we have been given a great trust, a huge responsibility, and a tiring job. But we wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Enjoy your weekend!