A Mom

Today children of various ages and from diverse locations will be "rising up and calling 'Blessed'" that woman of great virtue - mother. (This refers to an interesting Biblical account of the character of a hard-working mother in Proverbs 31).

I am fortunate to have both my own mother and my mother-in-law still alive today and they are both worthy of double honor but in this venue, I want to focus on the mother of my children - my wife.

As a girl, she didn't play with dolls much. She liked sports, bicycles and games instead. So she had doubts about her "motherly" instincts.

I, on the other hand, had a bundle of nieces and nephews and was rather comfortable around children.

So when we married - she was not prone to want to move very quickly into the "family - thing".

It was ten years before we had our first child. Now this was due to several good and not-so-good reasons but we believe that God had a number of things that He needed to teach us before we would be prepared to be entrusted with any children. I am convinced His timing was accurate!

My wife just took to motherhood. And she bears all the classic characteristics: she's protective of those kids; she nurtures them; teaches them and gets up with them in the middle of the night (even if Dad got up too).

So I am truly proud of this mother of my children. I am even more proud when I see her character rubbing off on them (or bubbling up to the surface).

We have a daughter that has her strong sense of diligence, a bull-dog tenacity and a firm sense of justice. Our son, on the other hand acts a little more like his dad in the area of "organizational skills" and attention to detail... but he's smart like his mom and he has the ability to occupy his mind without a constant need for attention from others - that's like her, too.

I think we have a grand home. And she is the hub around which everything turns. She makes sure that clothes are picked up and washed and ironed, noses are wiped, lunches are prepared, field trip money is in on time, kids make it to piano practice, and on and on... (just thinking of it makes me tired and reminds me how utterly helpless I am without her!) But she is the catalyst - ultimately if our home is peaceful - it is because mom is peaceful; she is the trend-setter for our home. That is a huge responsibility!

The other day, I was talking with our 9 year old daughter - who also doesn't play with dolls - she shared something with me that she said was embarrassing to her.

So, like a typical father, I am going to share it with all of you.

She said something to the effect that she couldn't wait to be a mom. Now, if she had been fifteen this would have scared me to death! But at the age of nine, I know that this means that her mother is fulfilling her role as "mom" in such a great manner that our daughter is just enthusiastic about the prospect of being like her.

I think that's a pretty strong endorsement!

R. - Your children are calling you"Blessed!"
I love you!
Happy Mother's Day!