Mother's Day

Sunday, May 8th, is Mother's Day, and I couldn't let it go by without writing about the most wonderful Mama in the world...MINE!!

If you've read my profile or ever been around me, you know that one of my life goals is to grow up to be just like Mama. Anybody who knows Mama would tell you that I would have a looooonnnnngggg way to go :)

Mama is most likely the strongest Christian I know--and I know a LOT of Christians. She has more Bibles than most churches own, and she reads from all of them AT THE SAME TIME! It is not uncommon to go in and find Mama on the couch, surrounded by study materials and Bibles, reading away on a lesson for that week or just studying over something she heard on television or Faith Radio. Often she will ask one of us to look something up on the computer, and she adds all that information to what she has found on her own. She has an insatiable desire to KNOW when it comes to the Bible and knowledge of God.

She is also an AH-MAZING prayer warrior. We go to her for everything in terms of prayer. Granny, her mama, left her the secret to knocking right on God's door -- of that I am totally sure. She prays for us every morning as we travel to work. She prays for our work places. She prays for us when we are sick. Once, when Lauren had a co-worker that she just  could not tolerate, I mentioned the situation to Mama. The next information from Lauren -- the co-worker's husband was offered a contract in Japan. JAPAN! Mama prayed her not only out of Lauren's life--she prayed her slam out of the country! Amazing!

Mama is also our example in the areas of being a wife, a mother, a homemaker, and a grandmother. "Lucky enough to be able to stay home" with us (her words), she took her job at home very seriously. The house was always clean or being cleaned; clothes were always washed or waiting to go into the washer; summers were filled with shelling peas and beans and silking corn. We were not lovers of lunchroom food and did not like to take our lunches in high school. No problem for Mama--she had delicious food ready as soon as we got off the bus. In fact, it seems like she had food ready all the time. I can remember watching her pull cans of food from the cabinet and packages of meat from the freezer to prepare for supper--all this while we were eating breakfast!

She and daddy have taught us by example: don't argue in front of the kids; don't discuss the bad aspects of life, school, or church in front of the kids; work hard; keep a clean house; honor and respect each other; the strongest love is the one that quietly perseveres and supports each other through thick and thin.

I have learned a lot about being a mother from Mama, but she has also taught me about being a grandmother. I used to wonder why my kids were just wild to stay with Mama and Daddy, but why would they not be? At Nannie and Papa's, the world stopped while our children were there. It's been so easy to follow her example. Buying food the kids like, special snacks for them, having a play room when we don't have little ones here, having sippy cups filling our cabinets, having extra clothes in sizes newborn to 6 in our house--that's just what I learned from watching Mama.

My Mama--the most beautiful words in the world--about the most beautiful woman in the world. How blessed I am to have her. How thankful I am the God placed us together in our family. How honored I am to be her daughter. Love you, Mama!!!