she’s got a way about her…

**I first published this blog in 2014…enjoy and God bless. Happy Mother’s Day!

I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me
all my life. ~Abraham Lincoln

Mother’s Day

A day set aside to honor our moms. The stores are filled with cards, flowers and gifts of pink and white. Restaurant reservations have been made…phone calls from children out of state…a joyous day to be shared with family.

But…what if your mom is deceased? I have a dear friend who recently lost her mother and it weighs heavy on my heart today. For most of us, holidays like this one bring happiness…but for some, it is a bittersweet reminder of what we no longer have with us.

I’m reminded of a story in the Bible. In Luke 7, Jesus is approaching the city of Nain when he sees a funeral procession. The custom in those days is for those passing by to join in the procession out of respect, much like we do today by pulling our cars to the side of the road.

We learn that a young man has died and his mother is a widow with no other children. So this, her son, was all she had. And now, he is gone too. The text says that “When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Jesus touched the coffin and told the young man to get up and then Jesus gave him back to his mother.Then the crowd began to praise God.

We can deduce from this story that Jesus raised the man for the glory of God. But to me, as a mother, I see something else and I think Jesus did too. As he approached the woman, who would have been lamenting aloud, I think he saw not only a grieving mother, but in a sense, his own mother. It would be just a short time until his own mother would grieve and suffer the great loss of her son.

It is said that the use of the word compassion, as it is used here, is only used one other time in the Bible. That was in the story of the Good Samaritan. The form of the word used not only dealt with an emotion but evoked an action or response on the part of the person. With the Good Samaritan, aid was given to a stranger; for Jesus, raising a widow woman’s son and alleviating her pain…something he would not be able to prevent in his own mother’s life.

As mothers, we want to do all we can to make our children’s lives as healthy and happy as we can. For me, my own mother, was a great source of strength as I grew up. She is a generous and caring person who doesn’t know a stranger. Other women in my life, like my step-mom, Diann and my mother-in-law, Helen, grandmothers, aunts, sister-in-laws, nieces, cousins and friends, have molded and shaped me into the mother and person I am today.

I am so grateful for all of the strong women in my life. I’m blessed to know them and love them. And if your mom is no longer with you, I pray that you have a day filled with precious memories and joyful stories.

Happy Mother’s Day!

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. ~Tenneva Jordan