Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. (Proverbs 1:8)
One
of the things I hate is the tendency (we all have) to lecture when we
should celebrate. I have attended Naturalization Courts, welcoming new citizens
as they take their citizenship oaths. They have just completed proving they know
what citizenship in the United States involves, and then they have to listen to
judges tell them their duties as citizens. I suspect they know those duties at
least as well as the judges.
The
same thing happens around Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. They’re supposed
to be days when we laud and honor our mothers and fathers, but instead, we
offer tips about how to be a better parent or lecture about the
responsibilities of the roles. There’s even a tradition of giving tools of
the trade (vacuums, power tools, etc.) as gifts. That tradition gets the
mockery and scorn it richly deserves.
People
also have a notion that traditional living – and Biblical living – involves the
degradation of women, but even in the days of King Solomon (9th
Century BC) at least some wise people acknowledged the value of mothers.
Solomon advised at least one son to listen to his instruction (as the wisest
man ever lived) and not forsake his mother’s teaching. This would
suggest that it is wise to not forget one’s mother’s teaching.
While
we must grant that all others are imperfect, and some are actually horrible, most
deserve more respect than we tend to give them. My mother died more than 25
years ago, and to tell the truth, I don’t remember much of what she taught me. What
I mean is that I don’t remember her teaching me – or anyone else teaching me for
the most part. But who I am today is due to her influence and teaching. And
even where that teaching amounts to learning from her mistakes, I still
benefit.
So,
on this day when we celebrate mothers, I applaud mine, and those who have
been surrogate mothers. Whether or not they did as good a job as they wanted or as good a job as they thought, they have brought blessings to my life in
ways neither they nor I may understand right now. And, my hat is off to all
mothers – women who have suffered the inconveniences and fears of giving birth
to and raising another person, who have succeeded and failed in myriad ways. I
thank them for their courage, wisdom, hope, patience, and love.
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