Skip to main content

A Mother's Day Without ...


We're faced at times with the departure of people that we've known well for all of our lives. For me most recently, it was my precious mother in the summer of last year, so Mother's Day this year provided for a different range of emotion and provoked some personal observation...

In the back of our minds we may well know that we'll face their leaving one day even while we share their company in the present - but our thoughts at the time would be not now... not now. For a time pleasant conversation, wise counsel, laughter and tears are all shared in the comfort of present company as we push away any knowledge of their predetermined future. Still, even while we're with them, a fleeting thought from time to time may remind us to take stock of what we have in them while we yet have them ... and then they're gone.

What can we say in the presence of the Lord while we face the gaping void of their absence? Do we dare to be resentful or to let our faith falter at the end of their allotted moment? Do we drown in the misery of our own sorrows? Or are we rather found to be grateful for the gift of their presence in our lives - for the time they were allotted to bless and enrich us? For indeed, they are each one an undeserved gift, intended only for a measured time. And any failure to note that gift bypasses a much deserved gratitude to the Lord who lovingly shared them with us purely by His grace.

In the wake of their leaving, we can faithfully only attempt to measure what they have endowed us with - not what we've lost, but rather what we've gained by grace. It's an accounting well undertaken because each gift that the Lord graces us with enriches us in ways we must acknowledge for the future. For every such gift we must not only be grateful, but noting what we've been given through their presence with a responsibility to pass on as a gift of inheritance to those we share life with in the present and our own measured future. It's a responsibility we all share.

By sharing the best of what we've learned in Christ's spirit from those we've loved, we honor both them and the grace filled giver of life, who knowingly blessed us with them for a time. By example, I have a responsibility to share a good, kind and compassionate heart. My mother's was a heart full of love and laughter, one valuing most what cannot be measured in money and is of greatest value to Christ's heart - people. I know my execution of that responsibility won't be perfect, I'm no more perfect than my mother. But like my mother, I will endeavor with a full and good heart to follow in the footsteps of my Savior in order to pass on her legacy and to demonstrate my gratitude to them both as long as I'm able. This is her legacy and my responsibility to share, but it also honors both my mother and my Lord in the wake of their gifts to me,

This may be a little different way of thinking about a loved one's departure for some, but I'm convinced in my own heart that it's in keeping with a divine perspective rather than what could be my own selfish one. Unlike far too many, I'm not forced to carry the terrible burden of loss - I know beyond any doubt where my mother is. She may not be here, but she's not lost. She's right where she's supposed to be and where I some day want to be - in the Lord's direct care. Though my heart may at times be heavy as I consider that she's not present with me now, I have the joy and comfort of knowing that one day, when my own measured time runs out, I'll share life with her in the Lord's presence forever, so I can have peace.

In the wake of this first Mother's Day without her present, I'll honor her still, knowing that as I seek to follow in Christ's footsteps and share His heart, I'm honoring them both. Our Lord has shared with us richly what is His alone and given us a responsibility to share what He's given. We've received a precious gift in the people that add to our lives and a responsibility to share what we've received from them in His spirit. In doing so, we step forward and fill that void they leave behind in their honor...

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What If...

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. "  Hebrews 4:12-13 (NKJ) I'm not one who appreciates the stoking of fear for the sake of it or unnecessarily. There are enough things in this life to keep people concerned and even constantly fearful if they subscribe to them. I would like though, to take a moment to encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ and any others who will take a little time to read this and give it some serious consideration because the subject has real   potential  consequences and there's still time to address any issues that we find upon reflection... If you were made aware that   sometime in the next hour  your life on earth was ...

Judging, Judgment And Judge...

"I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark. I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. But all who reject me and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken. I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.” John 12:46-50 (NLT) A lot is said these days about "judging", but in the midst of that popular societal buzz and the assertive comments that come with that conversation, I have a question: If God has called something sin and we simply agree with what He's said,... are we judging or just repeating and declaring the truth? When He walked the earth, Jesus spoke about judging and He pointed out the danger of our judging...  “Do not judge other...

An Observance And Observing True Reality...

As Easter approaches, I begin once again considering how our God sees our observance of an occasion as I always do and also what He might truly desire of us in observance above any of our trivial, man inspired traditions . What I come away with in firm conviction is the understanding that the most trivial of my sins, the least of my crimes against God, had the power to forever damn me in His judgment of me and send me into unending torment. And that knowing this one thing in truth and as reality, is key to my correct posture before God in honor of His purpose in the event. That key being the horror of knowing that the price of my very least sin was the shedding of my Christ Jesus' blood and His horrible suffering, because the reality of this brings the deep rending of my heart in awe and gratitude and it makes possible my true joy at the relief of my sentence because of what He has done. I believe this is a part of what God would desire from us in observance of Christ's death a...