The power of one life to influence others lives is great, but the power of a mother's life to influence the lives of her children must be infinitely greater.
My mother has poured out her life for her children for approximately the last 30 years.
For about 16 of those years, she had a child in diapers.
For about 27 of those years, she has devoted herself to homeschooling us, and she still has 2 or 3 years to go.
She has made over 32,000 meals in that time--and unless one of us takes it over (which is maybe 5% of the time), she never misses breakfast, lunch, or dinner. And she has made all the bread we eat for about the last 20 years. (How many loaves would that be? I don't even know. Sometimes we eat one a day...)
She has consistently guided us, counseled us, taught us in the ways of the Lord, and lived it out herself. Her deeds match up with her actions. Her life underscores her words.
And all this, cheerfully, wholeheartedly, with all her strength, even when she has suffered from frequent headaches, insomnia, and other health problems.
She is always there for us. She is always kind. She has the kind of wisdom that has everyone calling her on the phone for advice. She has the kind of friendly manner that makes her the most popular person in a room wherever she goes. She manages her time so well, I don't know how she gets so much done in a day. She is well read, intelligent, and knows how to do things. She serves, serves, and serves. She's a safe person to talk to, because she won't scold you or reject you for what you think, but she'll listen and care and give good advice.
And then! She's FUNNY. She's hilarious! She pokes fun at herself...she does cute little dances around the kitchen...she makes up words...she talks baby talk and makes funny faces on the randomest occasions...she jumps in alarm when the mouse moves unexpectedly or a screen pops up on the computer...and she just has a good-natured way about her, all the time.
My mom is someone who is safe to be around. I can talk with her, cry with her, pray with her, laugh with her, be silent with her, work with her, and be silly with her. I can go off on a rant about one of my pet peeves and she'll listen. I can go into her room when my heart is breaking and cry out all my sadness, and she'll comfort me. I can bring up a really serious issue that someone is struggling with, and she'll pray with me--mighty, fervent, faith-filled prayers that have world-changing power. I can say something really dumb, trying to be funny, where other people would just groan or roll their eyes, and she'll laugh. I can just sit next to her and not say a word and it's never uncomfortable. We can have a big job to do when someone is coming over or something, and we can work together as cheerfully as can be. I can put on a funky song and get her into a silly mood and watch her pull some very un-sedate, un-mom-esque moves (which would be mortifying if she pulled them in public), and we can get to that slap-happy point where we're laughing so hard we can't stop.
Mom, here's to you. I love you. I wouldn't be who I am today without you. I want the best for you, and I really, really appreciate you, every day, more than you know. You are my hero!
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