May 2, 2005
Washington Irving once wrote: “A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.”
An old Jewish proverb says, “God could not be everywhere, so He invented mothers.” Actually, our theology holds that God can be and is everywhere, but I still like the proverb.
This Sunday is Mother’s Day. The phone company tells us it is their busiest day of the year. I hope not, but suspect that is true because most folks do not take advantage of calling their mothers while they have the opportunity. So they try to get it all done on one day. My mother probably wishes I would not call so much. Just like Garrison Keillor, I place a weekly phone call for “the news from Lake Wobegon” (actually, Yazoo City). I’m sure some of those calls come at less than convenient times, like when mother is trying to get food on the table. (I still have trouble calculating the two hour time difference between Mississippi and California.) However, I realize how fortunate I am to have the wonderful mother God gave me, and that I can still tell her, “I love you.” So I make every Saturday evening a little mother’s day all its own. It does my heart and soul good, just in time for Sunday worship.
Oscar Wilde wrote: “All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his.” And the continuing tragedy is that we do not tell our mothers how much we love and appreciate them while we have the chance!
Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “[mothers] carry the key of our souls in their bosoms.” Whether living or in their eternal reward, we will pause this Sunday to remember our mothers, upon whose bosom we first learned God-like love.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mother! I love you.
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