Friday, May 11, 2018

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

In a couple of days we will "officially" celebrate Mother's Day. I believe that many of us realize that these special ladies deserve our respect, appreciation, recognition and love on a daily basis and not just during a "Holiday." The media is full of stories that chronicle the failure of Mothers and very little news concerning those faithful, loving Mothers who have served and continue to serve their families. I have crossed paths with many wonderful Mothers through my years of service as a Pastor. I have seen these women serve their families under very trying and challenging difficulties yet they never lost their faith, confidence and hope in God.

I was brought up in a home that had one of those Mothers who served her family. I am presently living in a home with a wife who is also one of those Mothers. These two ladies as well as all of the "spiritual Mothers" in my life have had a hand in my development as a son, student, man, husband, sibling, father, grandfather, friend, Minister and Pastor. I want to take a moment and offer my thanks to God for the role that these Godly women have fulfilled in my life. I want my Mom as well as my wife, Ann, know that I love and appreciate them more than they will ever know. They were and still are women of faith, prayer and unconditional love. They have certainly impacted my life in more ways that I can ever identify.

I must also take a moment and remember my Mother-in-law. I only had a Mother-in-law for a little over two years. Ann's Mother, Louise, moved to her eternal home a few months before her 42nd birthday. She died suddenly on a Sunday morning in 1974. But she made a difference in my life in the brief time that I knew her. She also was a woman of faith and a woman of prayer. She made an impact on her family as well as those other individuals that God placed in her life. She is no longer physically present with us but she is certainly not forgotten. "Ludie" is alive in our hearts and minds on a daily basis. You were and still are loved and appreciated.

I would like to share a prayer with you that caught my attention a few days ago.

Dear Father, we thank You for creating each Mom with a unique combination of gifts and talents. We thank You for the sacrifice of self each Mom gives for her children. For the late nights spent rocking a sick infant. For the hands calloused from washing, wiping, scrubbing, mixing, stirring, baking, hugging, patting, disciplining, holding, writing, erasing, painting, and pouring. We thank You for the gift of time Moms give for their kids, whether it’s stay-at-home Moms, working Moms, and Moms who have some combination of the two. We thank you for the flexibility of Moms, for their tirelessness, their perseverance, and their devotion. We pray you give each Mom strength. Help her to see in every mundane task the eternal, spiritual significance that You place on motherhood. (Daniel Darling)

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