Closer

My family teases me about my mother.  They say this is me (gesturing toward the right hand) and this is my mother (gesturing towards the left).  Then they move their hands closer and closer together saying that I am becoming just like her.  I laugh. 

When I tell my mother someone says I’m just like her, she responds with, “And did you tell them thank you?”  I laugh.

But no kidding, I hope people will one day view me with the same honor and respect that is given my mother. 

When I was a little girl my mother baked baby biscuits in tiny baby doll pans.  She made teddy bear sized pancakes on Saturday mornings.  Dolls were welcome at the table in highchairs.  We painted Sesame Street stencil pictures, and with a tiny little rolling pin and a tiny little mixing bowl, we baked.  Having fun was more important than staying clean.  Friday night out was always McDonald’s and K-Mart.

My mom can swan dive, do a lay-up, hit a home run, and ride a mini-bike.  She can get a $120 shirt for $2 and get them to take an additional 15% off of that!  She cooks, she sews, she’s creative, and she’s witty.  If all that is not enough, my mom is just plain ole’ good company.  She’s fun to be around. 

 But the most important thing my mother taught me is how to be Jesus to those around me.

 I watched my mother welcome a family of 12 for our Christmas dinner because they just arrived in America from Afghanistan.  She made dinner for families in need.  She taught me the importance of good manners and good friends.  She never spoke unkind words about others, and made me always look at an argument from the other person’s side.  She bought Christmas gifts for kids who wouldn’t otherwise have any and hung homely child-made Christmas ornaments in prime locations on our tree.  She is the most hospitable person I know.

Now you know why I would love to be just like her.  I only hope one day, my daughter will view me the same.  And when people say to her, “You are just like your mother” she’ll say, “thank you!”

Her children arise and call her blessed… Proverbs 31:28 NIV

 Happy Mother’s Day Mom!