My mom is..

She does not envy, does not boast, is not proud.
And because of that she would never tell people of the many hours, prayers, phone calls, errands, lunches, LOVE she has put in while my Dad tries to recover his business after the destruction caused by the recent flooding. My Daddy is so strong and he has worked for more than 30 years to build a business that he loves. A business that he uses to bless so many people. But even he would say, she has been behind it (and him) from the beginning. And especially now. (Insert here a prayer for both of them and for Bradfield Stage Lighting, its emloyees, office space and equipment. Join me in praying for many more years of weddings, Swan Balls, “gel gifts” to teachers, concerts, plays, lighting installation projects in churches and schools and so much more).

My mom is not rude,
My mom spent three long years taking care of her mom after her stroke. Her mom was not the same after that stroke. Sometimes she said things to my mom that we all know she didn’t mean. We love to tell the story about Gmomma “throwing shoes” at the staff at the nursing home. She was not herself. While this season was so difficult for my mom and all of our family, I never heard my mom I never heard my mom speak a rude word about the situation or her mom. Sure there were things she wished were different and there were days that were hard to understand. But she was never rude.

is never self-seeking,After spending years taking care of her own children, teaching other people’s children and then caring for her own mother, my mom CHOSE to take a job at a nursing home to love and care for others. She is so selfless I can’t even begin to do this justice.

is not easily angered,I used to wish that I would actually make my mom mad enough to YELL…it never happened. Instead, she would get very quiet, stay very calm and collected and correct me compassionately. I hated it 🙂 but loved the example it set for me in parenting. ]

and my mom keeps no record of wrongs.
and heaven knows there were plenty of wrongs to forgive from three of her favorite children…like the time we thought it would be a good idea to climb out of the second story window, slide down a drain pipe, and ride our bikes in the ally at night. I’m thankful now that 1) our plans were foiled when we broke the screen on the window and never made it past that point and 2) that my mom is so quick to forgive.

My mom does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.My mom prayed with us and for us from birth. My mom literally REJOICES in stories of the Lord’s sovereinty. She loves to tell about ways He is working in her life and the lives of those she loves. And because of that she is leaving a legacy of faith with her children, grand-children and no doubt with her grandchildren’s children. This is her greatest gift to us, and to generations to come.

She always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
My mom would always “go to bat” for us- protecting us when she could, but not in a way that would detriment our growth. She taught us to make good choices, and therefore TRUSTED us to follow the path the Lord had set out for us. When we made mistakes or strayed, she has always prayed and HOPED for our return to His will…she PERSEVERES in that with us and on our behalf.

Her love never fails.
EVER. Nothing can change it.

Love you to the moon and back, Momma (and so do RRL and these three munchkins)! I’m so thankful to call you MOM, especially as you shine during this difficult season.

ABL

“4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails…”
I Corinthians 13:4-8