Mothering

                Every family, community, and nation could be blessed by mothers who understand and fulfill their true purpose to the best of their abilities. Mothers have a divinely assigned mission to nurture and teach their children to love God and to become honest, loving, and responsible adults. Motherhood is a daunting but very important role.

                My sister in love gave me a copy of a story of just such a mother.  I like the story because it presents mothers in a good way but also shows the responsibility and duty that each mother carries.  I like the story so well that I sent it to the sisters on my visiting teaching route as well as to all six of my daughters. I do not know who the author is, but I applaud his/her work. The story is so true.  Each stage of motherhood is wonderful though difficult, and the later years are even better than the early ones. My mother left this life 37 years ago this week, and her influence and love are still with me. I miss my mom, but I know she is creating a mansion for me in the next life.

A Little Parable for Mothers

                The young mother set her foot on the path of life.  “Is the way long?” she asked. Her guide said:  “Yes, and the way is hard; you will be old before you reach the end of it, but the end will be better than the beginning.”

                The young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years.  So, she played with her children, gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed with them in the clear streams.  The sun shone on them, and life was good.  The young mother cried, “Nothing could ever be lovelier than this!”

                Then night came with the storm; the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold. The mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle. The children said, “Oh, mother, we are not afraid, for you are near and no harm can come.” The mother said, “This is better than the brightness of day, for I have taught my children courage.”

                Then the morning came, and there was a hill ahead.  The children climbed and grew weary, but the mother encouraged them at all times, saying “a little patience and we are there.”  So, the children climbed and grew more weary; the mother grew weary too, but at all times she said to the children “a little patience and we are there.”  So, the children climbed and reached the top; they said, “We could not have done it without you.” The mother, when she lay down that night, looked up at the stars and said, “This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness.  Yesterday I gave them courage.  Today I have given them strength.

                The next day came.  Dark clouds darkened the earth with clouds of war, hate, and evil.  The children groped and stumbled, and the mother said, “Look up; lift your eyes to the light.” The children looked and saw above the clouds an everlasting glory; it guided them and brought them beyond the darkness.  That night the mother said, “This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God.”

                The days went on, and the weeks, and the months, and the years.  The mother grew old, but her children were tall, strong, and walked with courage.  When the way was hard, they helped their mother; when the way was rough, they lifted her, for she was light as a feather. At last they came to a hill, and beyond the hill they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide. The mother said, “I have reached the end of my journey, and now I know the end is better than the beginning.  My children can walk alone, and their children after them.” The children said, “You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates.”

                They watched as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her. They said, “We cannot see her, but she is with us still. A mother like ours is more than a memory.  She is a living presence.”