Mother's Day

Some things that I love about my mother:

I realize that it might not be safe to put this on my blog, because my mother is the best woman that has ever walked the face of this earth, and so she'll be easy to spot, but she needs recognition.

(please note: these are not numbered according to rank, but according to what I thought of next)

1) My mother loves me.
When I was little, I would say "I love you", Mom would say "I love you more," and I would say "Nuh-uh, I love you more", etc., but I have realized that, however harsh and unloving it may sound, she really does love me more, and for that I love her. I could not love myself, be patient with myself, be a mother to myself (so let's hope my kid(s) is(are)n't exactly like me).

2) My mother is not perfect, and does not pretend to be.
My mother is human, and being human she sins time after time, and she is broken. Yet being a Christian, time after time she is forgiven, and time after time, she finds peace. She shows me that I am not the only one that struggles.

3) My mother prays with me.
Yes, when we pray I feel like the most stuttering person on earth compared to her worship-filled, praise-filled, God-honouring prayers, but it doesn't matter. We come together before our God and Master, both sinners, both forgiven, both crying, both loving God in a way that could seem so much if it were not so little.

4) My mother prays for me.
There are times that I know that the only thing getting me through the day is God's grace through my mother's prayers. There is an awesome (in the deepest sense of the word) blessing that comes with the knowledge that your mother (or really anyone else, but mainly her) is praying for you.

5) My mother trusts me.
There is nothing more honouring to me than to trust me. If I have earned your trust, then I value it more than anything else, and my mother trusts me very much. There are so many things that I could do behind her back, and most likely she may never find out, because she trusts me. Yet because she trusts me, I will not do them. Trust is a major thing with my mother. If you break her trust, that's it. But thankfully I've been wise enough to realize the importance of her trust, and so have always (unless there's something I can't remember) honoured it.

6) My mother is a devoted servant of Christ.
My mother lives on the Word of God. Her day is ruined if not started by prayer and reading His Word. My day goes downhill, but many times if I've forgotten to pray, I've forgotten why my days go downhill. My mother always seems to know. She is not materialistic, but treasures up God's promises. She gets frustrated when she falls short, yet she falls short in ways that I do not even think of because my faith is so shallow. She earnestly desires to know the Will of God, even if it means giving up stuff.

7) My mother loves my father.
My parent's relationship is the coolest. You'd swear they were newly-weds or some-thing, they love each-other so much. There is nothing I want more than to marry a man that loves me as much as Dad loves her, and to love that man as much as Mom loves him. The clearest way that my mom shows that she loves my dad is through her submission. Very rarely does she do something drastic with-out seeking Dad's advice, and often when Dad needs something done and doesn't have time, he asks Mom to do it, and she does it without hesitation.

8) My mother confides in me.
My mother tells me many things that I am honoured to be thought responsible enough to hear. There is nothing that I love more than to have Mom sit down and tell me everything that's bothering her. I feel like an adult, even if there's nothing that I can do for her, I can pray.

9) My mother is my best friend.
All friends my age, no matter how close, will never be as close friends as my mother and I. I feel more comfortable around her than anyone else in the world.

10) My mother is honest, but not harsh.
My mother tells me when I am headed in the wrong direction, or when she feels that I am headed in the wrong direction, then lets me pour out my jumbled up, confusing and pathetic heart. She's never harsh or cruel or tells me things that I do not need to hear. Her only intention is to keep me on the path of Righteousness.

11) My mother does not mind talking about uncomfortable or private things.
I have always known that I can come to my mom with the weirdest questions and not be turned away.

12) My mother love myself and my siblings all equally.
My Mother would never in her life play favourites with her children.

13) My mother lets me be my own person and encourages my interests.
My mother does not try to squeeze me into a cookie-cutter shape. She takes me places that I like to go, looks into the things that I enjoy, doesn't get annoyed by what I enjoy. In some ways we are extremely alike, but in others we can be extremely different. I have found, however, that, given enough time, I start to like some of the stuff that she does and I don't, without her pushing it on me. ANYWAY, the only time my mother objects to something is when it goes against our Lord and His Will.

14) My mother has lived in the world and no longer does.
My mother is a completely different woman than she used to be, and I'm reaping the benefits. She can teach me from her personal experience, and I must say, it makes lessons extremely interesting and very realistic.

15) My mother can bring up past embarrassing experiences for a joke, but does not push the limit to the point of cruelty.
My mother is a very funny woman (in the good sense), and very often a past mistake is very humorous (the longer ago that it happened, the funnier it is, I've noticed). But Mom does not laugh at her children's stupidity. My mother does not mock us.

16) My mother is so humble she won't admit that she's humble.
If my mother ever reads this (and I fully expect her to when she gets the chance) most likely (unless she has a complete change of heart before then) she will tell me that she could be better. Of course she could. She's human. But I think she's about as good as we can get in this fallen, sinful world. Okay, we do have jokes about humility and stuff, but what I'm trying to say is that my mom is more humble than she thinks she is.

17) My mother keeps an eye on me.
No matter how much she trusts me, my mother is always checking up on me. I haven't lived as long as she has and I need her to read my blog and require that I ask permission to go online and call people, etcetera (I love that word, it's so beautiful - okay, back to the subject). And my mom does that. She doesn't need a catastrophe to open her eyes. I don't have to suffer so that my younger siblings won't.

There are so many other things I could say about my mother, but she's up from her nap, so I'll probably have to get off soon. Any virtues that may be in me came about through the prayers and faithfulness of my mother. I love my mother. Long ago I sang a song called "My Mother's Gentle Love". I can still remember most of the words. I'm going to put the chorus here.

My mother's gentle love,

My mother's gentle love,

Has taught me of God's tender Care,

And turned my eyes above.

I'll bless her all of my days,

For all her gentle ways.

Oh how I thank my Lord above,

For my mother's gentle love.

I never thanked Him for her more than I do now. So there. That's my pitiful tribute to the best mother on earth.