When the Good Lord was creating mothers, He was into His sixth day of "overtime" when the angel appeared and said. "You're taking a lot of time on this one." And God said, "Have you read the specs on this order? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic. Have 180 moveable parts... all replaceable. Run on black coffee and leftovers. Have a kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed relationship. And six pairs of hands."
The angel shook his head slowly and said. "Six pairs of hands... no way." "It's not the hands that are causing me problems," God remarked, "it's the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have." "That's on the standard model?" asked the angel. God nodded. "One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks, 'What are you kids doing in there?' when she already knows. Another here in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn't but what she has to know, and of course the ones here in front that can look at a child when he goofs up and say 'I understand and I love you' without so much as uttering a word."
"God," said the angel touching his sleeve gently, "Get some rest tomorrow..." "I can't," said God, "I'm so close to creating something so close to myself. Already I have one who heals herself when she is sick... can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger... and can get a nine year old to stand under a shower."
The angel circled the model of a mother very slowly. "It's too soft," she sighed. "But tough!" said God excitedly. "You can imagine what this mother can do or endure." "Can it think?" "Not only can it think, but it can reason and compromise," said the Creator. Finally, the angel bent over and ran his finger across the cheek. "There's a leak," she pronounced. "I told You that You were trying to put too much into this model." "It's not a leak," said the Lord, "It's a tear." "What's it for?"
"It's for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness, and pride."
There is something so special about Mothers. Abraham Lincoln said, "Not one is poor who had a godly mother." He went on to say, "I remember my mother's prayers, and they have followed me; they have clung to me all my life. All that I am and hope to be I owe to my angel mother."
Anna M. Jarvis first suggested the national observance of an annual day honoring all mothers because she had loved her own mother so dearly. At a memorial service for her mother on May 10, 1908, Miss Jarvis gave a carnation (her mother's favorite flower) to each person who attended. Within the next few years, the idea of a day to honor mothers gained popularity, and Mother's Day was observed in a number of large cities in the U.S. On May 9, 1914, by an act of Congress, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. He established the day as a time for "public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country." By then it had become customary to wear white carnations to honor departed mothers and red to honor the living, a custom that continues to this day.
And I'll tell you, after all that our mothers do for us while we're growing up and even after we get out of the house, they deserve at least one day out of the year to be honored and to have gifts and calls and cards sent to them.
It is for certain that Mothers need to be honored and deserve to be honored. I think about a little boy that forgot his lines in a Sunday School presentation. His mother was in the front row to prompt him. She gestured and formed the words silently with her lips, but it did not help. Her son's memory was blank. Finally, she leaned forward and whispered the cue, "I am the light of the world." The child beamed and with great feeling and a loud clear voice said, "My mother is the light of the world!"
I'm sure that many feel the same way about their mother. There are not enough words in our vocabulary to say all that should be said about mothers. Let us always show our love and appreciation for the mothers in our lives. It has been four years since my mom passed away, and every day that goes by, I appreciate more and more what she taught me and gave me. I was blessed to have one remarkable mother. Cherish yours, always.
Have a blessed Mother's Day!
~Dr. Bob