"Sometimes I feel like a motherless child" so go the words of the classic spiritual. The words describe my childhood. I was not motherless, but sometimes I felt like I was. Alcoholic and possibly depressed, my mother was unable to love as a mother should. My twin and I grew up in a home empty of praise yet filled with verbal abuse, where affection was rare but beatings were common. It was not until I met Lisa that I learned what love truly was.
For the last 25 years I have been blessed by watching a wonderful mother in action. Lisa is the ultimate mom. She does all of the things my mother wouldn’t or couldn’t do, loves our children in all the ways a mother should. Here are the lessons she has taught me about what great moms do.
Great Moms-
- Listen to their children. They listen to their stories, their fears, their hopes and their dreams and the delight in hearing all of them.
- Appropriately protect their children. I say appropriately, for good moms don't protect their children from the consequences of their actions of from deserved discipline. They do protect their children from abuse and unwarranted punishment. There have been a number of times when I was tempted to overreact to something my children did and Lisa was always their working to calm me down and show me the hearts of my children. She saved me from myself and guarded my relationship with my kids.
- Know the hearts of their children. Lisa has an amazing ability to see the true feelings or fears that lay behind every act. She sees what I do not, feels pains that I would overlook.
- Forgive. Kids can be mean and selfish great moms forgive and love anyway.
- Pray for their children, desiring God’s best for their lives. Lisa prays the desperate aching heart prayers of a devoted mom.
- Love sacrificially. I have watched in amazement over the years as time and again Lisa has set aside her interests and put the children first. Whether it be saving the last piece of cake or taking a smaller portion of a meal, or giving time she simply did not have, she has always put the children first.
- Are available. Lisa has stayed up late, gotten up early and set aside her own agenda day after day. She has always been there. Our children have grown up secure because of Lisa, their safety net, hiding place and comforter.
- Laugh and play. One of the greatest joys of my life is hearing the laughter of my wife and children. Lisa is the queen of delight, finding joy in who are children are and what they do.
- Love their husbands. I realize not all husbands are lovable, and many are not even around to love. But Lisa's love has helped me be a better father. I would have been a failure without her.
There are no words and no greeting cards that can adequately express the impact a good mother can have on her children. I will just say that a good mother is truly a gift from God.
- Bart