Mother's Day Gifts

It's the day after Mother's Day and the quiet that has descended upon the house has put me in a reflective mood. Now that everyone has gone there are chores to be done even though there was plenty of help yesterday. But I don't mind the chores so much because they've given me time to thank the Lord for my gifts and blessings. Proverbs 14:4 comes to mind, "Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox," and I think of how it applies to my life. Where no children are, the house stays clean. To me, that is a sad thought, indeed! I like the strength that comes from our large family.

I pick up the greeting cards and re-read them. They say so much, but they mean so much more. I do not feel guilty for reading between the lines because I know the hearts of my children. I know more than most how symbiotic the relationship is. They need me. And I REALLY need them! They need others, too, but I am thankful to be counted. Those needs are stated - or implied - in the cards and gifts. Sometimes the chains we've forged bind and gag us, but more often than not they are the moorings that hold each of us fast in times of rough weather. I am sorry for those who have not forged such bonds!

I think about the gifts that I received yesterday, some tangible and some intangible, and I breathe a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord who has blessed me with so much more than I could ever deserve:

• I think about what an honor it is that my parents and parents-in-law spent the day with us. What a blessing that my 4 children and 4 grandchildren have their "grands" and "greats" to share their lives! Is this something we take for granted? Probably. And probably shouldn't. But like so many who are blessed we don't always think how unusual our situation is. What a blessing to have 4 generations in the house yesterday!
• I think about my husband who hosts and plans the day to honor his mother, my mother, our daughters who are now mothers, and me. No long restaurant lines for us! And I dare say that not many mothers could boast of the type of great steak dinners that we enjoyed.
• I think about my older granddaughters shopping for the perfect planter. Just knowing that they searched until they found a hanging basket with flowers that were just the right color (purple) is so endearing. Yes, handfuls of dandelions would be just as appreciated but there is something precious about little ones knowing another's preference.
• I think about the younger set of grandchildren jealously climbing up on my lap and smiling with delight when they realize that there is room for both of them on my lap and in my heart. What better way to learn that another child doesn't mean that love is divided but instead is multiplied in manifold number!
• I think of my sons-in-law and give thanks for them. I'm not their mother, nor do I try to replace their own mother in their heart, but I am privileged to be a second mother to them. I thank God for this and I pray for my additional children daily. I miss the one who is absent but I am thankful he is safe and that we will see him again soon. It has been too long.
• I think about the love my daughters have for their own mother-in-law and I am thankful for it. I'm not jealous over those relationships but I am relieved. It gives me hope that someday I'll be blessed with a daughter-in-law of my own who will allow me to love her and will love me in return.
• I think about the relationship my children have with each other and shake my head. Where did these people come from?! I know how they came to be biologically, but how did they get to be the people they are today? The same folks that I thought would kill each other in childhood now tend to serve as their own police force and cheerleading squad. They patrol each other's behavior and encourage each other in ways I never could. Such is their own symbiotic relationship! Being an only child, I can only wonder at this. I watch their interaction and I miss the child who is absent. I'm thankful she will be here soon as I hear the other children talk about the arrangements they will make to their own schedules just so they can spend as much time with her and her spouse as they can.
• I think about my own children and I cry tears of joy. People have always asked me what I wanted my children to be when they grew up. No one ever believed me when I said I didn't care. These are probably the same people who didn't believe me when I said I didn't care about the gender of each child when it looked like we would be blessed with all girls but it was true. And such is the same with what they became when they grew up with one exception. And it is a major exception. All I ever want my children to be are servants of the Living God. That's it. My childrearing verse through the years has always been 3 John verse 4, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."

And that, my friends, is the greatest gift that any of them can ever give me. I am so blessed!