A Mother's Love

 

"A mother is the truest friend we have."

~Washington Irving

Do you remember being separated from your mom when you were little - in a store or a public place?  Were you traumatized as you surfed through knee after knee of full-grown humans that weren't your mom?  Or as a young child ever accidentally grab the hand of an adult that wasn't your parents'? Ahhh!  The horror!

I distinctly remember as a young mom leaving a child (or two) at church and driving almost all the way home before I realized they weren't in the third row seat of the new car we just bought.  My defense is I wasn't used to looking in a third row.  And while my daughter was very young and still knew enough to go to the safe Sunday School lady, my son (on a separate occasion) was still up in the tree he climbed and didn't even know he was left behind.

My husband says he often thought as a preacher's boy when he didn't think anyone was home that the Rapture happened and he was left.  Now that is sad.  Don't worry, he is theologically sound now:)

Though a young mom (always running in circles with keeping up with an active family) might get forgetful once in a great while, a mother's love NEVER forgets the hearts of her children.  It doesn't matter how old they are, how naughty they were, or how messy they made life at times - the bond of a mother's soul to her child's is never broken.

I think of Mary, a young teenage mother who was designated by an angel of the Lord to be the  mother of Jesus - the Savior of the world - and how she raised Him through the toddler years not knowing what that meant.  How she and Joseph returned to Jerusalem to look for Him when He was in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52).  

* A side non-spiritual note: Mary left her child at the church- just saying.

I think of how she must have been so proud when she watched the crowds He drew and He healed people and taught love and forgiveness.  How He loved on everyone He met.

And then maybe did she get angry but felt helpless when she heard the awful things the Jewish leaders said about her son?  And then how utterly heart-broken and completely devastated she undoubtedly was when she watched Him suffer and die a death not deserved in any way.

Michelangelo's La Pieta

A mother's love.  It's the easiest and hardest job in the world.  Whether you are a mother or really want to be a mother, have lost your mother or are in the process of losing her, even if you feel like you didn't do a great job at times raising your children - the Lord says and wants you to know on this day that you are precious in the Lord's eyes (Isaiah 43:4).  

He saves us, takes delight in us, and rejoices over us-

"The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.  He will take 
great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over
you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

He loves us even more than we love our children.  And it doesn't waiver, falter, or become dependent on anything we say or do. It isn't perishable, doesn't get lost or get held back.

The Father's Love ＞ a mother's love.  Some math everyone can get. 

✙ Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us mothers as an extension of Your love.  Thank You that devotion, commitment, unconditional love and compassion are all things You have instilled in them because they are all attributes You possess.  Regardless of whether we are mothers or not, we can shine with You to others that need this kind of love.  Help us to do that.  Please comfort those who have lost their mothers at this time and preserve their memories in our hearts.  Amen.