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Mother's Day

             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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