the day, the week: a Mother's Day perspective

The phone rang this morning 35 years ago, my dad on the other end. "Your mother's gone," he said simply. She died six days before Mother's Day, and for many years, as the anniversary of her death coincided with Mother's Day, I hated the reminders in the stores and hated that other people didn't seem to appreciate their mothers. It was very hard to find joy in my children's celebration of me. The journey of missing her all these years has been rocky, but I've found smoother ground.

It seems different now. I guess aging does that, giving us new perspectives. The fact is, in the 24 years I knew her, Mom shaped me for mothering in countless ways. She wasn't always patient, but her love of life, people, and raising us well was contagious.

 

I delight in seeing others, especially my daughters-in-law, being good mothers.

I'm humbled when younger moms sometimes ask for advice.

And I know for certain that

my mother's legacy

proves we can teach and guide and love well

in whatever time God gives us on earth.