It is interesting hearing the things everybody is thankful for....for the example their mom was to them, the things they taught them, the meals they made, the times there shared, the list goes on. And I can absolutely and completely relate!
But, again, it is bittersweet. Only a third of my life was my mom healthy. The other two-thirds my mom has been sick, dying, or gone. And so the memories we had together are so precious. But in a way, I am realizing how blessed I really am. The years I had were literally so full. And the impact she made was incredibly huge. I am only who I am today, much in part because of the mom God gave me. Although most people in my life these days never knew me when I had a mother, her presence in my life is still so real. And although most have not met her, she was beautiful.
So today I think about Mom. Proverbs 31:28 speaks of a woman with noble character. And it says "Her children rise up and call her blessed." Now I have often wondered if that means that her children say she was a blessing or that she lived a blessed life. I have tried going back to the Hebrew meaning of the word, which was the original language this was written in. But I can't really tell. But to be honest, today in my mind, this statement is so true in both senses of the word.
I hope you can follow my thinking here. It may seem as though I go off topic for a moment, but I hope in the end I make sense. :)
Not too long ago I saw a statement, on somebody's status on Facebook, that said in effect that we are blessed, not by the quantity or presence of many good things in our life. Rather, we are considered blessed by our response and attitude of thankfulness of what we are given, whatever that may be. In that sense, my mom was one blessed lady! And as a result, she blessed me, and everybody around her.
Why is this, you may ask? When I think back to why I am thankful for my mom, I am thankful for many of the same things many others are thankful for. But today, I am thankful that Mom lived a life characterized by contentment.
Contentment is not something we find very often these days. In a world where mother's, whether they realize it or not, are teaching their children to look for a better house, better car, better body, better friends, better image, better husband, better job, better life...my mom chose to be okay with what she had, who she was, where she was at, what she was given. Not to say she didn't strive to be the most she could be. She absolutely invested in growing as a woman of God and in what she did! In fact, she always seemed to do everything with excellence. But there was a quiet contentment about her. You could hear it in the way she spoke, the way she served, the way she loved, the way she lived. She didn't strive for an unreachable "more," and had a peaceful joy about her life each and every day, no matter how simple or difficult it was. As I look back, it made for a very uncomplicated life really.
Mom's contentment allowed her to be at peace. She was calm when she interacted with people. Her words were gracious. I think this was because her contentment allowed her to have a confidence that was not striving or threatened. And she didn't let toxic things like jealousy or envy or competition get in the way of her relationships.
Mom's was content with how she looked. She wasn't the most trendy dresser. She didn't wear any make-up when she was home. She wasn't thin, she wasn't fat. But I am thankful for this because the example she set for me as a young girl was not an example of a woman striving for perfection, materialistic, self-absorbed, or overly conscientious of her body image. She was self-assured. And that confidence was balanced, healthy, and naturally beautiful, because she was content in how she was made. And Mom focused on what she did have, not on what she didn't have.
Mom was content with her place in life. She was a wife and mother. Because of her contentment, she found joy and purpose in cleaning floors, doing lots of laundry, and making dinner. She didn't feel like she needed to be out doing a ton of stuff, and to be a part of everything, taking her away from her main priority all the time. Because of her contentment in her place in life, her roots went deep down. She did great in her main priority, instead of just okay in a lot of things.
Mom was content with her cancer. Don't get me wrong...she grieved the fact that she would die young. And she sure battled that cancer for a lot longer than the doctors thought she would! She never dreamed about saying good-bye to us so early. But she did not complain one time while she suffered. She had faith. And that faith enabled Mom to be content with whatever happened, trusting God was in control and knew what was best.
Looking back today, I believe this contentment is what allowed her to get the most out of the short life that she lived. Discontentment leads to always wanting more, and something different, and missing out on the life in front of you.
So today when I read the passage about the woman of noble character, from Proverbs 31:28, that says "Her children rise up and call her blessed," I am thankful. I can say that my mom didn't have many extras by the world's standards, but she was thankful for and made the most of what she did have. And because of that she was a blessed woman. And because she had that attitude, she blessed many around her. My mom, even today as we are separated for a little while, is still blessing me by her example.
My mom was one blessed woman.
***One last side note, because I want to make sure I always have it recorded... I want to include a little message my friend (who was Mom's friend first!), Karen Broome, wrote me today about my mom. It was about the word that came to mind when she thought of Mom...
God's Student Teacher: She knew practically how to explain God so that all could understand and relate to him. She did not make Him seem threatening or unapproachable or judgemental. She took her knowledge of him and would use visuals, relatable personal stories, and everyday current life issues to teach other's about God's character. She was strong, compassionate, made an excellent ham dinner, soft-spoken, tender-hearted, and saw the heart of people and drew them out from behind their masks or fasads they put on so that they could be honest and real with her and she in turn would be the same with them. She was a beautiful woman...
I have to whole-heatedly agree with Karen! :)***
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