A Letter to my Mother

It’s hard to believe that you’ve been a mother for almost 50 years.  I was thinking about that today and I wondered how many times since 1960 you’ve heard one of us cry out that famous word (usually in times of peril), “Mooooom!”

I have learned so much from you that I could easily fill several pages with thoughts of how your life has impacted mine, but I wanted to take just a minute and name a few of the basics:  you taught me how to separate the whites from the colors; how to iron a white shirt until it’s nice and crisp; and how to whip up the best desserts.  You even taught me that my wife would one day appreciate a clean bathtub and toilet, and that she’d appreciate it even more if I were the one who cleaned them! Thanks, Mom.

As a young boy, I recognized how much people loved being around you.  It was easy for me to realize that God had given you a special gift and it centered on what He loved the most:  people. God made you a lot of things, Mom, but there’s no doubt in my mind that He made you first and foremost for “loving people.”  And that was not something you taught your children in words, but rather in deeds – you lived it out every single day of your life. 

There are so many things for which I am thankful.  Above all, for loving my father, and modeling for your three sons the joy and beauty that can be found in a marriage whose primary goal is to wholeheartedly serve God and then each other.    

Thank you for filling our home with laughter.  Although childhood is oftentimes filled with the likes of stomach aches, scrapes, and fevers (especially in a home of three feisty boys), I rarely remember a time when we were sick.  Without question, laughter is great medicine, and the medicine cabinets of our home were filled with the best medicine of all – the sounds of three boys and a Mother and Father who laughed.  

Thank you for reading scripture to us each day before school.  You took God at His word and diligently read the scripture that He then hid in our hearts.  The fruit of that has been born out in the lives of your three sons and seven grandchildren who all have called upon the name of the Lord, and whose lives have been incredibly changed by the mercy and love of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Thank you for being quick to forgive when we disappointed you.  Whether I knocked out the neighbor’s garage window, crashed my best friend’s car (in a prank gone awry) or missed my weekend curfew, I was certain that a consequence would follow.  But I was even more certain of your forgiveness, and there is nothing that makes the heart of a child more secure. 

Finally, and most importantly, thank you for praying.  Few children have the privilege of living in the home of a “praying mother.”  As a teenager, I had a distinct experience that I have carried with me for the last 30+ years.  One night, after being out late with my friends, I quietly breezed through the front door of our home hoping that I wouldn’t wake you.  As I tip-toed down the hallway to my bedroom, I was stopped in my tracks after hearing the sounds of a crying mother coming from your bedroom.  You didn’t know I was there, but you were praying…for ME.  You were thanking Jesus for dying for me on the cross and washing away my sins, and asking God to make Himself real to me in a way that I’d never known.  That night marked the beginning of the journey which, only months later, led me to the cross of Jesus Christ. 

Mom, your legacy of prayer, faithfulness, laughter, forgiveness, and love, will live beyond you.  It will live in the hearts of your children, and your grandchildren’s children and we will give God the glory. 

Happy Mother’s Day 2010 ~ I love you, Mom.