Moms

Moms...So often in life, so much of what they do goes unnoticed. As a child, I can't ever remember spending too many brain cells trying to figure out how in the world I always had clean clothes, or how the refrigerator was always full of food. It's crazy, but when I was sick, or sad, or upset, it seemed Mom just always had the answer or knew what to do. I never gave it much thought how inconvenient it might have been to drive me to soccer practice, or baseball practice, or band practice. Looking back it seems that Mom had somehow been supernaturally endowed with gifts of nursing, cooking, teaching, counseling, and multitasking, just to mention a few.

As we walk through our childhood, Moms are so good at doing it all without a lot of fanfare. They just do it. Behind the scenes they work most of the time unnoticed and unappreciated. Cleaning this, cooking that, folding this, driving here, driving there, picking up this, putting away that. And then because we are so grateful we set aside one day every year to say thanks.

I don't know about you, but I'm thinking even if we had a whole year we called "Mother's Year," it would still fall way short of the honor that's due. I mean, I'm glad we do the whole Mother's Day thing but a card, dinner, and some flowers or some other gift pales in comparison to the sacrifices made in our upbringing. I think what I'm saying is, I really don't believe we can ever pay in full the price Moms have paid for us.

That being said, I think honor is a pretty good down payment. Scripture tells us to give honor to whom honor is due. Honor is simply stepping back and recognizing the value in someone and choosing to acknowledge it. It's treating another more highly than oneself. It's recognizing the position one holds and the grace of God that is on them and choosing to respect them accordingly. It has little to do with what someone does, and has everything to do with who someone is.

This Mother's Day, and in the days, months, and years that follow, let's determine to truly honor our Moms. Let's appreciate the sacrifices they've made through the years, but beyond that let's choose to take a step back and recognize the treasure they are. Then, let's make an effort to communicate that in a way that convinces them we see just how precious and valuable they are. That's honor, and it's more valuable than any gift you could ever buy them.

Oh, yeah Happy Mother's Day Mom. Just wanted to let you know that no deed has ever gone unnoticed or unappreciated. Sure, it may have taken 43 years to recognize them, but recognize them I do. But, your value is far beyond all the sacrifices you made for me or any of your children. You're the best and my life is great, largely because of the mother you've been.