"The Grace Of A Mother"

                                                            

Reposted from Last Year and dedicated to all mothers on this, their special day.

                                          The Grace of A Mother

God grants a special grace to all mothers.  We have all seen it.  As young maidens they are spirited and lovely to look at in their first flowering.  But that bloom of youth is but a small sampling of the beauty and grace a woman is adorned in once she assumes the role of “mother”.  From the very beginning, in the first months of conception, and concurrent with the swelling belly, God grants a woman that supreme beauty that will never forsake her.  The rosy cheeks and the fullness of face are but the gathering sweetness that tells a husband that she is preparing the ultimate gift of love for him.  For she alone carries within her the bounty of two souls and two hearts which will soon become “three”. 

And from the very moment of conception the mother has assumed and accepted the instrumental role of motherhood and all the joy and pain that role must necessarily entail.  She will waddle and spot her undies and feel “unlovely” and endure the jabs and kicks of her unborn until, painfully, she will grant the ultimate gift; that of life itself.

But a mother’s job has only just begun.  She must nurture and educate and counsel and provide the unique source of unconditional love that, for any of us, is the greatest gift of all.  When the world turns a cold shoulder to us, who among us has not turned to mom for comfort and solace?

A mother will worry about anything that might harm her child but must also have the bravery of Joan of Arc in order to release the reins and allow the child to go out and live and laugh and play and love and, yes, assuredly be hurt by the storms of life.  Her wisdom in this way assures that her child will learn to endure and blossom in the life she has granted.

And a mother will faithfully perform her angelic role until she breathes that last breath she draws from this world.  Her last thoughts will be for her loved ones and her last wishes will be for the health and happiness of her children. 

How many of us have not seen the supreme beauty and grace of a mother?  Have we not memories of her bowed to help us tie our first shoe laces?  Have we not seen her bent over a stove to prepare us a meal?  Even, for those of us who have lost our mothers, can we not even now feel our little hand in hers as she led us to our first day of school, or a  trip to see Santa Claus, or to church so that we might learn that there is something larger than ourselves?

And, as we now look at our dear mothers do we not still see such beauty and grace?  The aging and knarled hands of our dear mothers is testament to all the washing and ironing and cooking and mending she did in fulfilling her role as mother.  Are those hands not beautiful to you?  And if mom is a bit stooped in posture it’s just the honors she has earned for carrying so many of life’s burdens.  Ah, yes, mothers are the most beautiful and gracious creatures our wise God ever created.

This is written to all the mothers of family and friends and my loyal readers.  Happy Mothers Day all.