Mothers

Life doesn't come with a manual, it comes with a Mother.

This quote struck me as it appeared in a video I watched this morning concerning mothers. A number of additional realizations ensued: (1) How very grateful I ought to be for the wonderful mother I was provided, (2) How humbling it must be to take on the responsibility of motherhood, and (3) How desperately I wish everyone could have a mother completely committed to their happiness and well-being.

The film also highlights the fact that one of the only people to stay with Christ until the end was His mother. "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother..." (John 19:25). Also, one of the last things Christ accomplished during His mortal ministry was to ensure support for his mother, "Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home" (John 19:27).

I am so grateful for my mother. She is one of my best friends, and she took it upon herself (and still does!) to teach me what is important in life and how to be happy. She has proven to be a most invaluable and irreplaceable manual, and I love her very much. She directly taught me at a very young age to be sensitive to the needs of others (she would often sit me down and ask me things like, "How do you think your friend felt after you told him 'such and such' on the phone just now? I still remember this!) and to be honest in all that I do. Both have played important roles in my professional and personal lives, and I don't know where I would be without her consistent, careful, and care-filled coaching. Thank you, Mom.