Mother

In our world, love rules. It is the highest attribute, with fundamental characteristics of
all humankind.
Perhaps the finest expression of love is:
MOTHER LOVE.
The definition of mother, a real mother is simply put:
LOVE.
A mother’s love is the ultimate human love.
It is said that THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE RULES THE WORLD. Perhaps
so because so much of a child is formed in the early years by mother. One is in life so
much of what a mother was. A real mother is part of the life of a child forever. What we
learn at mother’s knee is so often what we are. Her values become ours. We are HER.
The egg of a woman is the source of all life, the fundamental stuff of the universe and
when fertilized by the sperm of the male:
LIFE.
The most precious thing of all happens. The egg and the sperm unite and become one,
but it is GOD who gives life. At that very moment of conception, the life of a HUMAN
BEING begins.
That life is not a mere collection of cells as one biologist so flippantly said, but in
reality, the first moments of the life of a human being, a child on the grow in the
womb. That fertilized egg is a BABY. So much for abortion, which is nothing more than
murder of that baby at any stage in the womb.
And so, the mother begins mothering, and the baby grows. The enriched womb of the
mother nourishes and cherishes the baby, sensitive to every need. The morning
sickness is a small price to pay for the life within. Moods and diets may change as the
womb grows large and beautiful. It is really wondrous to behold the change of mother
in the making with that womb at work.
It is marvelous indeed to touch the nine month home of that child. The ear presses
down, hoping to hear any sound from the baby. Touching, hearing, kissing, and
sensing life at work are really more important than any ultrasound. God at work
through Mother Nature creating life is wondrous, even miraculous.
Some today are actually privileged to see the baby born. Out of the womb comes a
bundle of joy, of life and yet another miracle happens. The pain of childbirth is so well
worth the end result. Perhaps it is the most loving moment, the ultimate loving
moment when brand new baby lays firm on mother’s breasts. Having seen that, how I
wonder could any potential mother abort, kill her very own child? To do so is to abort a
miracle.
Early on, it is the still, small voice of the mother which is perhaps the greatest teacher
in life. We the infants hear that voice and remember what the voice of our mother
sounds like and says for a lifetime. We do so consciously and perhaps even more
importantly subconsciously. That loving voice in many ways is angelic, the early words
of love. They come with touch, and they are spiritual, psychological, character forming
and building. The love of a mother is every bit as important as food itself. So, in a
sense, these early words are eternal for they train up the child in the way the mother
wishes the child to go and to grow is not to depart from the right ways of the mother.
The words of a mother to her child are melodic, soothing, comforting. They support,
encourage and they make a child feel safe. A mother touches, hugs, strokes, talks and
sings to her baby, episodes never to be forgotten. When all else fails and all others as
well, a truly loving mother never does. She is forever, eternal.
A loving mother is kind. In a world rough and confrontational, the kindness of the
mother is a most necessary characteristic.
A loving mother is never jealous, never envious, always willing to put the child first, in
love. A real loving mother is proud of her child no matter what the child becomes.
Motherly love is always positive, not negative. It looks for the best, the good and the
right. But the mother renders discipline when things are wrong. The love of a real
mother is tough love. That love has standards, clear, straight and simply and lovingly
communicated. Real love is without compromise. A loving mother never bargains with
a child.
A mother explains and answers perhaps better than any teacher, helping a child to
understand. A mother stretches but never pushes knowing that her child must be
challenged in order to grow. There is always demand and discipline from the right
mother, both easy to implement when the child knows he or she is:
LOVED
A loving, Godly mother makes certain her child understands her standards and values
and those of God as well.
A loving Godly mother teaches the child the things of her Lord. Train up that child in
the ways of faith, of Christian faith, the faith of the mother. There is no better witness
for the child than a loving Christian mother, living life by those standards and the
child along with her. That is faith with works, the best kind.
A real loving mother gives time, quality time to the child. There is for mother and child
that quality time to talk and much more importantly, and especially for mother, to:
LISTEN.
In an age of cell phones, babysitters, fast foods, carpools and demanding social life, all
of that and everything else should never, ever interfere with quality time spent by the
mother with child. Truly listening, and touching, and hugging, and encouraging,
respecting the child produces some of life’s finest lessons. Those bonding moments
are, as one psychologist has well said:
PEAK MOMENTS.
Never to be forgotten by either. Patient, kind and understanding. Truly interested in
the life of a child, not superficially so. Perhaps that is why so many mothers wished
more than ever, so we are told, to stay home, build that home for husband and child
and all children and to spend full time training up that child in the way in which he
should go. That is what mothers are for and no other job can ever come close to that
incredible responsibility and opportunity.
No matter the love, child rearing is work, and hard work. It demands the time of the
mother at all times. The real needs of a young child are great and they demand full
time, mother always on the ready. How beautiful it is for father and husband to watch
the baby breastfeed. How beautiful to see mother and child so intimately and
sensitively connected. There is special nourishment from the milk of the breast but
there is also the psychological nourishment, the nourishment of love and bonding, one
with each other, the young and often subconscious memories lasting for a lifetime. A
mother’s touch, feel and taste are vitally important to the growth of the child.
Some mothers homeschool. They want to train up that child in the right ways
themselves. Others work to send the child to special schools, private schools or
schools of faith. Loving mothers are more than willing to sacrifice to accomplish the
right objectives for the child they love.
And all the while, a mother encourages the love of a father for child and the child for
the father. There is respect, as important as love, between mother and father, husband
and wife. There is a sense of equality as both parents love their child in different ways.
Perhaps the love of a father for a child is different but as the child grows and matures,
the love, the real love of a real father becomes as important to the child as that of the
mother. Without both loves, something fundamental is missing. So that, when a child
is ready for the world, and independence, and a life for itself, both loving parents have
formed the young adult and are ready proudly so to watch a brand new life unfold.
They have earned, these loving parents have, the right to be proud parents.
Small wonder that loving children love to give back. There comes a time when the
priorities are reversed and the child becomes the support, the loving support of the
parents. Loving children love to give back to loving parents. That love which began in
the womb is eternal. It never fails. It outlasts faith, and hope and all the wisdom and
riches of the world. It endures forever even as the love of Christ does.
And so it is with the deepest admiration, respect and love that we, all of us at Crawford
Broadcasting Company, salute all real loving mothers on Mother’s Day and all year
long. If you are a loving mother:
YOU ARE SPECIAL.
There is one day set aside to honor loving mothers which in reality should be done
every day of the year. We are admonished, commanded to:
HONOR OUR FATHER AND MOTHER.
It is a commandment that we honor real loving parents with our love and respect. Give
back the love you owe to your mother. Give it back with tears, with laughter and with
joy. With gratitude and thanksgiving for all that she has done for you. Let her know
how much you love and appreciate her, knowing as you do that you can never repay
the loving debt you owe. No child can ever give back all that he or she has gotten.
Never.
If she is here, make sure she gets what she deserves. There are so many mothers, like
mine, not here. My mother is with her Lord as she has been for more than a quarter
century. How much I would love the opportunity to give her one more hug. Do that for
yours while you can.
We salute you and thank you, mother. There is really nothing like you in this world:
NOTHING!