May.09.03: Light For The Day - "Mother's Day" -- Exodus 20:12 (NIV) "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. (The Fifth Commandment) ---------------------------------------------- No man is poor who has a godly mother. - Abraham Lincoln -------------------------------------- "WHO IS MOTHER?" Mother is half of the Father/Mother team, the one who gave birth to you as a child. When she first held you in her arms, she fell madly in love with you! She is the one that changed your diaper, gave you your bottle, bathed and dressed you. She is the one who tended to you when you were sick, wishes she could have bore your pain, but unable to even share it with you. There is none like a Mother. If you have children, then you know what it's like to be a Mother. Often, it's a tough job, with unruly children, and many heartaches before they are grown. Sometimes a Mother is lucky that she has well- disciplined children, but only because she has done her best in order for them to be well-adjusted teenagers and later adults. Mostly, Mother sits and worries that she hasn't done her best with her children, especially if they don't turn out as she thought they should, with all the training she had given them. Mother is a human being, capable of making mistakes. She is not perfect, just as none of us are perfect. But she is the one that we picture as being perfect during our childhood. As we become older, we realize that Mothers are capable of right and wrong ways of doing things, missing the mark, just as much as the next person. But she is still Mother. The thing that sets her apart is her everlasting love for her children and her intent that they lead normal, well-adjusted lives. Not until we become adults, do we really begin to appreciate WHO Mother really is. She has nurtured you through your childhood, put up with your sassy ways and times of being lazy during your teenage years, and cried through your becoming an adult. But Mother was always there to encourage you when you made a mistake, although sometimes it's hard not to show disappointment {I am sure I've done that}. As we grow older and have our own children, we realize that Mother was a very strong person, and we begin to wonder can we ever fit into her shoes. No, we wear our 'own shoes'........ we can never do things the same as our Mother, although she has given us the pattern from which to build. IF we have a Godly Mother {I did!}, then we can bring up our children in the ways of God, so that when they grow older we have the assurance that some day they will live for God. After all, Proverbs 22:6 says "Train up a child in the ways he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Mothers are special. Is your Mother living today? If so, try to make this Mother's Day the most wonderful day of her life! Show her you care if only by telling her you love her. Take her out to eat, take her flowers, but show up on Mother's Day, if possible. You will never know how much this helps Mother to realize her family still cares. Sometimes we get busy doing the usual things in life, and lose sight of the most important aspects - loving our family. And Mother happens to be where that 'family' began. Without Mother, there would never have been a family. You might also tell Daddy that you are so happy that he chose Mother to be his wife. Make his eyes light up as well!! M - Messenger, relaying God's Word O - Outpouring of genuine Love T - Trusts in God H - Heart set on things above E - Earthly saint R - Rescuer of the Wayward -- Barbara Sanders ---------------------- -- 2 Timothy 1:5 (RSV) "I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you." -- Proverbs 23:22 (TEV) "Listen to you father; without him you would not exit. When your mother is old, show her your appreciation."