A MOTHER’S LOVE

It seems an angel slipped out of heaven and spent the day roaming around on earth. As the sun was setting, he decided he wanted to take along some mementos of his visit. He noticed some lovely roses in a flower garden, plucked the rarest and most beautiful, and made a bouquet to take back to heaven.

Looking on a bit farther, he saw a beautiful little baby smiling at his mother's face. The baby's smile was even prettier than the bouquet of roses, so he took that, too. He was about to leave when he saw the mother's love pouring out like a gushing river toward the little baby in the cradle, and he said to himself, "Oh, that mother's love is the prettiest thing I have seen on earth; I will carry that, too."

He winged his way to heaven, but just outside the pearly gates he decided to examine his mementos to see how well they had made the trip. The flowers had withered, the baby's smile had faded, but the mother's love was still there in all its warmth and beauty. He discarded the withered flowers and the faded smile, gathered all the hosts of heaven around him, and said, "Here's the only thing I found on earth that would keep its beauty all the way to heaven -- it is a mother's love."

-- Unknown, quoted by Barbara Johnson in “So, Stick a Geranium in Your Hat and Be Happy!”

#5094

A MOTHER'S PERSISTENCE IN PRAYER

The story is told of Monica, the mother of St. Augustine.  This fourth-century woman had a son who was so perverse that almost anyone else's child would have been considered to be no problem at all in comparison.  But through Augustine's difficult years of rebellion, Monica never stopped praying for her son and she lived for the time when he might give his life over to God.

One day, Augustine announced to his mother that he was leaving his home in the city of Hippo to live in Rome.  He wanted to go to the big city where the action was, and he let it be known that Hippo was no place for a lover of nightlife, like himself.  When she heard the news, Monica's heart broke.  She was sure that by going away to Rome her son would be lost to her and to God forever.  She begged Augustine not to do this and, in an act of desperation, pleaded with him to go and sit with her in the church while she prayed about it.  He yielded to his mother's request that he go to church with her, but while Monica was on her knees in prayer, Augustine sneaked off to the harbor and boarded a ship sailing for Rome.  When Monica discovered what had happened, she was deeply hurt, but she never despaired; she just kept on hoping and praying.

While in Rome, Augustine quite miraculously came to Christ through the witness of St. Ambrose.  Under Ambrose, he was nurtured into Christian discipleship, and when it was learned that the city of Hippo needed a new bishop to lead their church, Ambrose recommended the once wayward son of that town for the office.

Can you imagine the surprise and joyful amazement of Monica the day she went down to the dock with others from her church to meet their new pastor?  None other than her own Augustine walked down the gangplank!  The mother who never gave up on her son had been rewarded.  Monica's story is a reminder to mothers everywhere that where there's life, there's hope.  It may be that, even when the life of your loved one is ended, there is still hope. 

-- Tony Campolo in “Following Jesus Without Embarrassing God” 

#5035

THERE ARE NO PERFECT MOTHERS

“Charm can be deceiving, and beauty fades away, but a woman who honors the Lord deserves to be praised.”  (Proverbs 31:30 CEV)

Our society sees to it that we all grow up with the notion in our head that there were two kinds of mothers: good mothers and bad mothers. Good mothers are loving, nurturing, and all-giving. Bad mothers are self-absorbed, uncaring, and inadequate. Yet most real flesh-and-blood mothers are neither all good nor all bad. Most mothers I know want desperately to be their best selves -- full of love and genuine concern. Yet the absolute dependency and endless demands of a child require every mother to give, at times, without getting anything immediate or tangible in return. No other relationship calls for endless giving and attention like that of raising and caring for a child. We expect mothers to spend their lives caring selflessly for their children without complaint....

This coming Sunday... churches... will extol the virtues of motherhood. The poem about the tireless, self-sacrificing wife and mother in Proverbs 31:10-31 will be read from pulpits and every mother attending church will nod her head publicly in agreement but berate herself privately for every instance in her mothering when she failed to live up to the biblical ideal. [Mothers need to be reminded] that there are no perfect mothers, that God knows and understands how hard it is to be expected to give unceasingly with little to nothing in return.

-- Dr. Renita Weems

#4587