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| My Mama way before I knew her... |
Born on my mothers 34th birthday, she would tease and tell me that she gave me her birthday, and that she would stay forever 34. I would joke with her and tell her that I was the best birthday present she ever got. Actually though, she was the gift to me. I am truly blessed that she was my mom.
Ever since I can remember, I enjoyed spending time with her. Just having her near me was a comfort when I was little. In some of my earliest memories, I recall that when I was maybe 2 or 3 years old I would sit on her foot and curl my arms and legs around her leg tight while she would tote me from room to room doing the dishes and who knows what. It was great fun and I was content being close to her. She gave me lots of hugs and kisses and often told me that she loved me. When I started school, she was a room mother, assisted in my Brownie troop, and went on many field trips with me. I loved every minute of it.
After I grew up and moved over 1,000 miles away from my mom and the rest of my family, she and I kept in close touch by telephone. If things were not going right in my life, I knew I could pick up the phone and call her. She would be a listening and sympathetic ear who would encourage me as she was giving me moral and common sense input.
After David and I were married, with our 1st 2 children just 17 months apart, my head was spinning trying to manage them as infants and toddlers. My mother, who through life experience could see a bigger picture than I could, was often amused as I shared the latest antics of my children, She would tell me to remember that these are the best and easiest years of my life, and they go fast. I sometimes questioned that opinion, but as I look back I realize how accurate that statement was.
She loved my children and my sister’s children, and would listen to whatever they wanted to talk about for hours on end. My son, a sports nut, would tell her every bit of trivia that he currently knew while she sat and listen attentively the entire time he spoke, as though he was speaking pearls of wisdom.
My mother spoiled our family. She understood that the way to my heart was through my children. Maybe she was that way too. Every time she did something for them, it was a gift to me. I loved and appreciated her so much for that. On several occasions, she bought season passes to the Disney parks for herself and all of us. When we lived in South FL, we would all stay in a fantastic hotel near Disney that was super kid oriented. She would make sure that we (the parents who were always in a rush,) took time for the kids to have fun playing in their pool, playing bingo, karaoke, face painting, arcade games and more. The hotel was a vacation all in itself, adding Disney to it was over the top bliss for our children.
She spoiled us all at Christmas with lots and lots of gifts. Some years she spent Christmas or Christmas Eve with us. When my brother and sister-in-law moved to the area ~ they brought my mom to live with them. After that, we began a new tradition of going to their house on New Year’s eve and having my side of the family’s Christmas then. Regardless of where or what day we celebrated Christmas with my mom, she gave the kids and all of us an abundance of joy through her love and thoughtfulness.
Speaking of gifts… The biggest gift of all that my mom gave me was to share about her faith in Jesus Christ. Though life was messy during my childhood, and going to church was often sporadic, I believed in Jesus from an early age. I knew He was there, and I knew He was with me. I prayed and trusted that my prayers would be answered. But until I became an adult my relationship with Him was one of convenience to me. My mom knew this, and had many talks with me about her rock solid faith. She didn’t talk to me as though she was better than me because of her faith. She spoke words of love so that I would understand what I was missing, often setting me straight when my heart would wander. If she was ever disappointed with me (at times she had completely valid reasons to be,) she never showed it. Instead she always, always gave me her unconditional love.
Once someone I highly respected told me that the Bible is fallible. It just so happened that it was around the time that my mom was coming for a visit. When the subject came up, I told her what I had heard. She paused for a moment and said, "Just what part of the Bible do you want to believe is inaccurate?" I was puzzled. Then she said "That is like calling God a liar." Ouch!!! Mom rarely minced words. I still was unsure though ~ But she backed her belief up with scripture. When I thought about it, and prayed about it I could clearly see that she was right. How could I ever tell my children to obey this part of the Bible and believe that part of the Bible, but the rest doesn’t count. That is an inconsistency that would make my children doubt their faith, or worse yet, doubt the Lord’s omnipotence. I am very grateful that the Lord placed my mom there at a pivotal time in my faith.
Over the years, my mom and I had many discussions about our faith. Hers seemed to deepen, and mine was strengthened. I am thankful that the Lord gave me a mother who had a heart for Jesus.
- She deeply loved each of her children.
- She had strong bonds to her mother, sister and other family members.
- Mom had a great sense of humor.
- As a single mother, she worked hard at her job to get ahead.
- She genuinely listened to what we had to say, trying to understand what was important to us.
- She had a good personality and taught me how to step outside of my shy self and speak to others.
- She was a great encourager.
- She was the perfect mom for me.
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