5/11/2008

All About Mothers

Mother
Author Unknown

For as long as I can remember
you have been by my side
to give me support
to give me confidence
to give me help

For as long as I can remember
you have always been the person I looked up to
so strong
so sensitive
so pretty

For as long as I can remember
and still today
you are everything a mother should be

For as long as I can remember
you have always provided stability within our family
full of laughter
full of tears
full of love

So much of what I have become
is because of you
and I want you to know
that I appreciate you, thank you
and love you
more than words can express

You have shown me how to give of myself
You have shown me leadership
You have taught me to be strong
You have taught me the importance of family
You have demonstrated unconditional love
You have demonstrated a sensitivity to people's needs
You have handed down to me the important values in life
You have handed down to me the idea of achieving one's goals
You have set an example, throughout your life
of what a mother and woman should be like
I am so proud of you
and I love you... forever


Mothers are like God's Wings
Author Unknown

"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge." (Psalm 91:4)

An article in National Geographic several years ago provided an interesting picture of God's wings. After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree.

Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he gently struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother's wings.

The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies. Then the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast.

Because she had been willing to die, those under the cover of her wings would live.

Being loved this much should make a difference in your life. Remember the One who loves you, and then be different because of it.


A Mother's Prayer
By John Higiro Mihigo

Dr. Billy Kim of Suwon, Korea, the pastor of a ten-thousand member Baptist church tells this story.

Americans were on one side of the ridge; North Korean communists on the other. This was war! Bullets zipped, zoomed and ricocheted from both zones. Many lives were lost as the ammunition often struck their targets.

On this night on Heartbreak Ridge, so named by an American war correspondent, the battle was especially intense. A bloodcurdling scream pierced the air. Fifty yards from the Americans' foxhole, in enemy territory, a young soldier was hit. In desperation, he cried out for help. Though several soldiers wanted to get to him, none dared leave the protection of the foxhole.

As time marched on, one soldier kept checking his watch. At the stroke of nine, without a word, he bravely crawled on his belly out to his wounded buddy. He grabbed him and quickly dragged him back to safety.

Later, the sergeant approached the brave soldier and asked, "Why did you wait until nine o'clock?"

The young man replied, "Sarge, when I left home my mother promised that she'd pray for me every morning at nine o'clock."

This brave young man knew he could count on the prayers of his faithful mother. She promised to pray. He felt protected at the very moment that he knew she was asking God to keep him safe.


The Ears
Author Unknown

"Can I see my baby?" the happy new mother asked. When the bundle was nestled in her arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped. The doctor turned quickly and looked out the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears.

Time proved that the baby's hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was marred. When he rushed home from school one day and flung himself into his mother's arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be a succession of heartbreaks. He blurted out the tragedy. "A boy, a big boy...called me a freak."

He grew up, handsome for his misfortune. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music. "You might mingle with other young people," his mother reproved him, but felt a tenderness in her heart.

The boy's father had a session with the family physician. Could nothing be done? "I believe I could graft on a pair of outer ears, if they could be procured" the doctor decided. Whereupon the search began for a person who would make such a sacrifice for a young man. Two years went by.

Then, "You are going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it's a secret" said the father.

The operation was a brilliant success, and a new person emerged. His talents blossomed into genius, and school and college became a series of triumphs.

Later he married and entered the diplomatic service. "But I must know!" he urged his father. "Who gave so much for me? I could never do enough for him."

"I do not believe you could," said the father, "but the agreement was that you are not to know...not yet."

The years kept their profound secret, but the day did come... one of the darkest days that ever pass through a son. He stood with his father over his mother's casket. Slowly, tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish-brown hair to reveal... that the mother had no outer ears. "Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut," he whispered gently, "and nobody ever thought mother less beautiful, did they?"

Real beauty lies not in the physical appearance, but in the heart. Real treasure lies not in what can be seen, but what cannot be seen. Real love lies not in what is done and known, but in what is done but not known.