Happy Mother’s Day, Mom
“EVERY ONE OF YOU SHALL REVERENCE HIS MOTHER” (Lev. 193).
This is a picture of my mother in her early 90s. She was a kind, generous, patient soul. I miss her.
“Which of your parents made the deepest impression on your life?” Three old men chewed on this question yesterday. My answer to the others: “My mother.”
Though dad impacted my life in many positive ways, still it is mom’s influence that is ever-present with me, even to this day. This wonderful woman helped mold and shape the man I became. In her I offer a tribute to all the moms who read this.
From mom I learned the love sacrificing. I refer to one simple thing she did for me, it defines her. After making pajamas for the three of us, mom had a fabric remnant. Because of its folded shape while cutting, it looked like a ghost. I asked mom to sew it onto the front of my new top, but she was finished and gently said, “no.” She must have seen disappointment in my face, for undetected by me, “Casper” was on my belly when I went to bed that night. Mom was like that, giving herself to others. I hope it learned some of that, at least.
I never did drugs, not even marijuana. I was never interested in them; more to the point, I was afraid of them. I owe that to mom. One night as the family watched a cop program (Dragnet or Naked City) mom looked at me with fear and near-panic. The program concerned teens in the city overdosing on drugs. I still hear mom saying to me through near tears, “I hope you never do drugs.” I never did. I was blessed through her concern.
I trace my love for the Bible and my spiritual sensitivity directly to mom’s passion for the same. We would have family Bible reading after dinner and before any other activities. Nothing—literally nothing—excused us from “going to church.” Everything else in our lives—sports, entertainment, outings with friends, school programs, etc.—was secondary. That sense of priority has served me well. After all, what do we have, and what can we take with us, when the end of the road comes? Our spiritual investment over time is our take-away from life. Thank you, mom, for opening my spiritual “savings account.”
What I’m sharing is my deep gratitude for these and other keystones to quality living that I took from her love for me. I hope your mother invested as wisely in you as mine did in me.
Blessings on all devoted mothers,
Rod MacArthur
206.949.0325
rod_macarthur@comcast.net