Mothers are amazing.
They are our first friends in this big, scary world.
They are the ones who teach young ladies how to become young ladies, and the ones who teach young gentlemen how to become young gentlemen.
They are also the ones who teach little boys what happens when the boys start digging in a lady’s purse. That can be a noisy lesson.
My mother was definitely a teacher. Anyone who knew her for more than ten minutes found this out.
She taught me about the Internet before we had services like Pinterest, Instagram, Wikpedia, blogging, or YouTube. Even before we had personal computers, even.
Our home – when I was growing up – had all of this. Well, not globally-connected, but we had this nonetheless.
Our home overflowed with books, music albums, arts & crafts materials, writing materials, you name it. Poor Dad – he probably felt like he was living in a mix of art museum and public library most of the time.
And in the home, at the centre, was Mom. If we couldn’t find the answer in her library or on the crafting tables, we’d ask her for guidance.
The best part was that Mom was never afraid to say when she didn’t know something. In these cases, she’d say,
“You know, that’s a good question. Let’s find out together.”
I can see her now, as folks are being assigned duties up in Heaven. She’d likely take on the role of a “greeter”, meeting folks as they arrived. I can also see a new, nervous entrant into the Pearly Gates coming up to her to ask what he or she could expect. And as she’s said so many times here, she’d assure them by saying,
“You know, that’s a good question. Let’s find out together.”
One last thing and I’ll let you back to your day.
This is an old, cliched concept but I’ll subject you to it anyway.
If you take a candle and use it to light other candles, and then blow out the first candle, the room is a bit dimmer. But the original light is still there. We can experience how much brighter is the room for having had the original candle there to start this process off.
Such is my mother.
She’s said many times she’s just a vessel passing on the light. The light is the knowledge that God loves each of is uniquely and deeply, no matter our deeds or misdeeds.
Those who’ve spent time with my mother have been given the amazing gift of this light, as well as the awe-inspiring responsibility that comes with that gift.
I challenge each of us here, as she has regularly challenged me:
What will you do with this gift, now that you are aware of it?
How will you use this gift make this world better for having been here?
She has indeed made this world a bit brighter, a bit better, a bit more loving, for having been here.
Photo credit: Some rights reserved by QueenNomad