I Remember Mom
Today, as I sit around with a sinus infection, feeling a little sorry for myself and physically drained, it is continually brought to mind that it is my mother's birthday. Not a normal birthday, either, as it's the first since her death last year.
There is a movie called, I Remember Mama, and it is a sentimental, light-hearted look into a Norwegian immigrant family. I caught the end of it today, as I flipped through the channels looking for anything worthwhile. The eldest daughter is reading her first published story aloud to her family and the scene fades out at the line, "but most of all, I remember Mama." Can anyone doubt that I was brought to tears today?
I, too, remember my Mom. We were so much alike in temperament that we butted heads for years. As a teenager and young adult, all I saw was what she did wrong. But, as I matured, both in life and in faith, our relationship smoothed out. Isn't it amazing how the older we get, the smarter our parents get?
The last few years of her life, I probably talked with her more in a week than I would've in a month when I was younger. While we didn't agree on everything, there was a certain amount of wisdom and experience that was available to me through Mom. I'm glad I learned that before it was too late.
She had a hard road after she and my dad split up, with 5 kids still at home and one in college. There was the need to work, so she chose to work in the school my brother and I attended. We walked home together every day. In the evenings, she did transcription to increase her income. My mother was a hard worker, and did what she had to do to provide for her children. I remember once the school sent everyone home with forms to apply for free or reduced lunches. Some people thought we ought to apply, given our income. Mom got angry at that. She said, "I can feed my children, even if it's just a peanut butter sandwich!" She refused to abdicate her responsibilities by handing them over to the government. Mom had dignity.
When I was a child, I remember that Mom spoke of my dad with respect, though I believe he hurt her deeply when he chose to leave. Never once do I recall her trying to turn us against him. She also never tried to take away or ruin our time with him. I always respected her for that, especially after hearing the experiences of other children of divorce.
When I married David, Mom was worried for me. You see, David was badly disabled. She wasn't sure I had counted the cost before agreeing to be his wife. But when she understood that I was sure of what I was doing, she supported me and loved my husband as a son. In fact, I never remember her ever treating a son- or daughter-in-law with anything other than love and respect. She once told me that before any of us even grew up, she had determined never to interfere in her childrens' marriages. Mom recognized that the husband-wife relationship is paramount and parent-child takes a back seat.
Seven years before she died, Mom had a long hospital stay that included several surgeries and culminated in the loss of a leg. She was 62 years old, and learned how to walk with a prosthesis, and to make light of the situation. Not many women would've done the same. Kids always wanted to see her take her leg off, and she found a great deal of amusement in doing that for them. Mom did know how to laugh, and how to make others laugh. My husband enjoyed trading witticisms with her.
I started this blog to write and organize my own thoughts, but with the hope that some of it will bless others. It's been a hard year for me, with Mom's death nearly a year ago, and my husband's a short three months ago. Without God's sustaining arm holding me up, and without the family of faith surrounding me, I would never even be able to get up, much less get through a whole day, or a whole three months without David, or nearly a year without Mom.
The experiences I've had have brought me an eternal perspective I lacked. The Bible says that this life is like a vapor, and is quickly gone. But, life eternal awaits, and the elect of God are promised eternal glory while the unregenerate are promised eternal damnation. I now have a deeper appreciation of the sovereign grace of God in salvation.
Why should I, a sinner, condemned, unclean, expect any favors from the Lord of heaven and earth? The answer: I shouldn't. Yet, in His infinite, matchless mercy and grace, He chose to pluck me out of the miry clay of this life, clean me up by the righteousness of Christ alone, and present me to Himself robed in white, invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. He chose to take me, dead in my sins, and make me alive in Him through His gift of faith in Christ Jesus. He didn't have to do it. But, I'm eternally grateful that He did!
There is a movie called, I Remember Mama, and it is a sentimental, light-hearted look into a Norwegian immigrant family. I caught the end of it today, as I flipped through the channels looking for anything worthwhile. The eldest daughter is reading her first published story aloud to her family and the scene fades out at the line, "but most of all, I remember Mama." Can anyone doubt that I was brought to tears today?
I, too, remember my Mom. We were so much alike in temperament that we butted heads for years. As a teenager and young adult, all I saw was what she did wrong. But, as I matured, both in life and in faith, our relationship smoothed out. Isn't it amazing how the older we get, the smarter our parents get?
The last few years of her life, I probably talked with her more in a week than I would've in a month when I was younger. While we didn't agree on everything, there was a certain amount of wisdom and experience that was available to me through Mom. I'm glad I learned that before it was too late.
She had a hard road after she and my dad split up, with 5 kids still at home and one in college. There was the need to work, so she chose to work in the school my brother and I attended. We walked home together every day. In the evenings, she did transcription to increase her income. My mother was a hard worker, and did what she had to do to provide for her children. I remember once the school sent everyone home with forms to apply for free or reduced lunches. Some people thought we ought to apply, given our income. Mom got angry at that. She said, "I can feed my children, even if it's just a peanut butter sandwich!" She refused to abdicate her responsibilities by handing them over to the government. Mom had dignity.
When I was a child, I remember that Mom spoke of my dad with respect, though I believe he hurt her deeply when he chose to leave. Never once do I recall her trying to turn us against him. She also never tried to take away or ruin our time with him. I always respected her for that, especially after hearing the experiences of other children of divorce.
When I married David, Mom was worried for me. You see, David was badly disabled. She wasn't sure I had counted the cost before agreeing to be his wife. But when she understood that I was sure of what I was doing, she supported me and loved my husband as a son. In fact, I never remember her ever treating a son- or daughter-in-law with anything other than love and respect. She once told me that before any of us even grew up, she had determined never to interfere in her childrens' marriages. Mom recognized that the husband-wife relationship is paramount and parent-child takes a back seat.
Seven years before she died, Mom had a long hospital stay that included several surgeries and culminated in the loss of a leg. She was 62 years old, and learned how to walk with a prosthesis, and to make light of the situation. Not many women would've done the same. Kids always wanted to see her take her leg off, and she found a great deal of amusement in doing that for them. Mom did know how to laugh, and how to make others laugh. My husband enjoyed trading witticisms with her.
I started this blog to write and organize my own thoughts, but with the hope that some of it will bless others. It's been a hard year for me, with Mom's death nearly a year ago, and my husband's a short three months ago. Without God's sustaining arm holding me up, and without the family of faith surrounding me, I would never even be able to get up, much less get through a whole day, or a whole three months without David, or nearly a year without Mom.
The experiences I've had have brought me an eternal perspective I lacked. The Bible says that this life is like a vapor, and is quickly gone. But, life eternal awaits, and the elect of God are promised eternal glory while the unregenerate are promised eternal damnation. I now have a deeper appreciation of the sovereign grace of God in salvation.
Why should I, a sinner, condemned, unclean, expect any favors from the Lord of heaven and earth? The answer: I shouldn't. Yet, in His infinite, matchless mercy and grace, He chose to pluck me out of the miry clay of this life, clean me up by the righteousness of Christ alone, and present me to Himself robed in white, invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. He chose to take me, dead in my sins, and make me alive in Him through His gift of faith in Christ Jesus. He didn't have to do it. But, I'm eternally grateful that He did!
posted by Laura | 8:00 PM
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