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Vitamins for the Soul -- April 23, 2006
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Yali Shi
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Apr 22, 2006 19:57 PDT
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Vitamins for the Soul -- April 23, 2006
The Best!
By Ariana Keating
"My mother is the best!" How many times have you heard children say
that? Probably too many to count. I remember being of kindergarten age
and arguing with my playmates, "My mother is prettier than your mother!
My mother is smarter than your mother! My mother can run faster than
your mother! My mother is the best!" Years later, I still believe it.
I've always thought that on the dawn of their motherhood God hands the
mother-to-be a package containing an extra dose of love and patience.
That would explain why mothers can face with a smile so many things that
make the rest of us cringe. I know for a fact that my mother had a lot
of patience with us four rowdy kids.
If I was sick, my mom was there to comfort me. If I had a nightmare, my
mom was there to remind me that God's love and light are much stronger
than the Devil's fear and darkness. If I came home from school in tears,
having been wronged by another child, my mother was there to wipe away
my tears and explain that there will always be disappointments and
hurts, but that the beautiful moments of life will far outweigh them.
Even now when problems come my way, my mom's words come to mind—words
that helped me hold on before. A child always remembers those!
Being adventurous, I wanted to leave home and "start my own life" at an
early age. My mom supported me in that decision and let me go. And when
I came home, she welcomed me with open arms. She even accepted the
"improvements" I'd made in the meantime, including shorter hair of
another color and a nose ring. I knew she loved my hair and nose just
the way God had made them, but she accepted the fact that I had to make
my own decisions, even if some of them would turn out to be wrong.
I know Mom would like to have all four of us kids around her always, but
she has given my grown brother and me to God and is proud that we are
serving Him where and how we feel called. When the time comes, I know
she will also support my younger two brothers in their decisions.
I owe a lot of firsts to my mom—my first breath, my first steps, my
first guitar chord, the first cake I baked, the first meal I cooked. She
has given so much to me! One day, when I become a mother, I only hope
that I will be able pass on to my children all the love and
understanding and everything else that my mother gave me.
The Bible's wise King Solomon described my mom beautifully when he
wrote: "She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of
kindness. She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat
the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed"
(Proverbs 31:26-28). In other words, she's the best!
* * *
"The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom."—Henry Ward Beecher
(1813-1887)
"The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will
always find forgiveness.—Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850)
"Youth fades, love droops, the leaves of friendship fall; a mother's
secret hope outlives them all."—Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)
"A mother is the truest friend we have. When trials, heavy and sudden,
fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends
who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us, when troubles thicken
around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts
and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to
return to our hearts."—Washington Irving (1783-1859)
"A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning
unnecessary."—Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1879-1958)
"Mothers have as powerful an influence over the welfare of future
generations as all other earthly causes combined."—John S. C. Abbott
(1840-1916)
"Motherhood is the greatest potential influence in human society. Her
caress first awakens in the child a sense of security; her kiss the
first realization of affection; her sympathy and tenderness, the first
assurance that there is love in the world. Thus in infancy and childhood
she implants ever-directing and restraining influences that remain
through life."—David O. McKay (1873-1970)
"The bearing and the training of a child is woman's wisdom."—Lord Alfred
Tennyson (1809-1892)
Happy Mother's Day!
Shi Yali
http://www.sunshin.org
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