Mothers

“Honor your father and mother”  - which is the first commandment with a promise- “that it may go well with you …Ephesians 6: 2-3 NIV

Today is Mother’s Day.  All the usual activities are going on: flowers, breakfast in bed, lunches, telephone calls, cards. All these things are lovely for mothers but they often are rather generic.  When my children were teens, I told them what I really wanted was to have a day with no chores.  Between them, they prepared the meals, washed the dishes, fed the dogs and did whatever else needed doing.  I had one day to just goof off.  I really looked forward to it.  Now they are all grown up and I do a lot of goofing off on a regular basis but, when they were young, a day off was special.

As children we sometimes never stop thinking of our mothers as simply “our mother” and forget that she is an individual as well as a parent.  I read about a couple who took their ninety year-old mother on a road trip. They found out all kinds of things about her on that trip that they never knew.  She had for a long time wanted to go up in a balloon but never had. They arranged for a balloon ride which was a big hit.

I think a good way to honor our parents is to get to know them.  Ask them questions. Encourage them to share their feelings. Help them to be involved in their interests. They are not cut-out parents; they are special people who want to be appreciated for who they are.