MOTHER'S DAY

MOTHER'S DAY

Today is the day we honor those special ladies in our lives -- our Mothers! One of the things that grieves my spirit is how many folks I meet who have absolutely no relationship with their Mothers. It is a hard thing for me to understand. My Mom was by no means the perfect Mom -- but our Dad adored her and from my earliest recollections, he made sure that my brother and me honored, respected and loved her.

When my Mom died, she didn't leave us anything of substantial monetary value. But what she left us was a legacy of what it means to love Jesus. She loved Jesus with all her heart. What she did leave me was a Bible filled with notes and dates of how God was at work in her life. She also left several very worn devotional books that contained notations of things that were taking place in her daily walk with God.

One of her favorites was a devotional written by Millie Stamm, BE STILL AND KNOW. Most of the pages are missing and I didn't know why until months after she died. My Mom had a very aggressive form of cancer and lived out her last weeks and days at the Cancer Treatment Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was unable to do much communicating verbally because her the cancer had affected her throat and voice box. But she was still able to radiate the love of Christ to those who cared for her. She communicated by writing notes to the nurses and doctors. When it was hard to even write, she would pull out the pages of her devotional book and give them to her caregivers.

Several months after she went home to be with Jesus, we received a note from a nurse who was touched by her life. This nurse was having a particularly tough time personally and my Mom was very sensitive to her need. What she pulled out of that worn and tattered devotional book, was just what God wanted this nurse to hear. This lady was touched by the love and concern of my Mom.

It's days like today that I really miss my Mom. We talked on the phone for a few minutes every day up until the day before she died. I miss hearing her voice. I miss chatting with her. But as I read her devotional books each morning, she still speaks to my heart. I'd love to be able to pick up the phone today and tell her that she has three grandbabies on the way! She would be so happy and proud of her granddaughters, Laura and Julie, and the daughter-in-law she never met, Jenny. Thanks, Mom, for the legacy you left us -- may my new grandbabies come to love Jesus the same way you did.

"The woman to be admired and praised is the woman who lives in the fear-of-God. Festoon her life with praises!" -- Proverbs 31 from THE MESSAGE

Guys -- if you are not going to be with your special Mom today -- pick up the phone and call her. Tell her you love her. You won't have her on this side of heaven forever. Don't spend a life of regret wishing you had made that call!