Friday, February 17, 2012

MOTHER


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This is a truly BEAUTIFUL piece. 
Please read this at a slow pace, 
digesting every word and in leisure.... 
Do not hurry.....this is a treasure... 

For those lucky to still be blessed with your Mom, 
this is beautiful. 
For those of us who aren't, 
this is even more beautiful. 
For those who are moms, 
you'll love this.

The young mother set her foot 
on the path of life. 
'Is this the long way?' she asked. 
And the guide said: 'Yes, 
and the way is hard 
And you will be old before 
you reach the end of it.. 
But the end will be better 
than the beginning.' 

But the young mother was happy, 
and she would not believe 
that anything could be better 
than these years. 
So she played with her children, 
and gathered flowers for them along the way, 
and bathed them in the clear streams; 
and the sun shone on them,
and the young Mother cried, 
'Nothing will ever be lovelier than this.'

Then the night came, 
and the storm, and the path was dark, 

and the children shook with fear and cold, 
and the mother drew them close 
and covered them with her mantle, 
and the children said, 
'Mother, we are not afraid, 
for you are near, and no harm can come.'

And the morning came, 
and there was a hill ahead, 
and the children climbed and grew weary, 
and the mother was weary. 
But at all times she said to the children, 
'A little patience and we are there.' 
So the children climbed, 
and when they reached the top they said, 
'Mother, we would not have done it without you.' 

And the mother, when she lay down at night 
looked up at the stars and said, 
'This is a better day than the last, 
for my children have learned fortitude 
in the face of hardness. 
Yesterday I gave them courage. 
Today, I've given them strength.'

And the next day came strange clouds 
which darkened the earth, 
clouds of war and hate and evil, 
and the children groped and stumbled, 
and the mother said:
' Look up. Lift your eyes to the light.' 
And the children looked and saw 
above the clouds an everlasting glory, 
and it guided them beyond the darkness. 
And that night the Mother said, 
'This is the best day of all, 
for I have shown my children God.'

And the days went on, 
and the weeks and the months and the years, 
and the mother grew old 
and she was little and bent. 
But her children were tall and strong, 
and walked with courage. 
And when the way was rough, 
they lifted her, for she was as light as a feather; 
and at last they came to a hill, 
and beyond they could see a shining road 
and golden gates flung wide. 
And mother said, 
'I have reached the end of my journey.. 
And now I know the end 
is better than the beginning, 
for my children can walk alone, 
and their children after them.'

And the children said, 
'You will always walk with us, Mother, 
even when you have gone through the gates.' 
And they stood and watched her 
as she went on alone, 
and the gates closed after her. 
And they said: 
'We cannot see her but she is with us still. 
A Mother like ours is more than a memory. 
She is a living presence.......' 

Your Mother is always with you.... 
She's the whisper of the leaves 
as you walk down the street; 
she's the smell of bleach 
in your freshly laundered socks; 
she's the cool hand on your brow 
when you're not well. 
Your Mother lives inside your laughter. 
And she's crystallized in every tear drop. 
She's the place you came from, 
your first home; 
and she's the map you follow 
with every step you take. 
She's your first love and your first heartbreak, 
and nothing on earth can separate you. 

Not time, not space... not even death....!


Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Don't we all....?


I was parked in front of the mall wiping off my car. I had just come from the car wash and was waiting for my wife to get out of work. Coming my way from across the parking lot was what society would consider a bum. 
From the looks of him, he had no car, no home, no clean clothes, and no money. There are times when you feel generous but there are other times that you just don't want to be bothered. This was one of those "don't 
want to be bothered times." "I hope he doesn't ask me for any money," I thought. He didn't. He came and sat on the curb in front of the bus stop but he didn't look like he could have enough money to even ride the bus. 
After a few minutes he spoke. "That's a very pretty car," he said. He was ragged but he had an air of dignity around him. His scraggly blond beard keep more than his face warm. I said, "thanks," and continued wiping off my car.

He sat there quietly as I worked. The expected plea for money never came. As the silence between us widened something inside said, "ask him if he needs any help." I was sure that he would say "yes" but I held true to the inner voice. "Do you need any help?" I asked. He answered in three simple but profound words that I shall never forget. We often look for wisdom in great men and women. We expect it from those of higher learning and accomplishments.

I expected nothing but an outstretched grimy hand. He spoke the three words that shook me. "Don't we all?" he said.

I was feeling high and mighty, successful and important, above a bum in the street, until those three words hit me like a twelve gauge shotgun. Don't we all? I needed help. Maybe not for bus fare or a place to sleep, but I needed help. I reached in my wallet and gave him not only enough for bus fare, but enough to get a warm meal and shelter for the day. Those three little words still ring true. No matter how much you have, no matter 
how much you have accomplished, you need help too. No matter how little you have, no matter how loaded you are with problems, even without money or a place to sleep, you can give help.

Even if it's just a compliment, you can give that. You never know when you may see someone that appears to have it all. They are waiting on you to give them what they don't have. A different perspective on life, a glimpse at something beautiful, a respite from daily chaos, that only you through a torn world can see. Maybe the man was just a homeless stranger wandering the streets. Maybe he was more than that.

Maybe he was sent by a power that is great and wise, to minister to a soul too comfortable in themselves.  Maybe God looked down, called an Angel, dressed him like a bum, then said, "go minister to that man cleaning the car, that man needs help." 

Don't we all....?