Sunday, May 8 is Mother’s Day.
I’m willing to bet that most of you reading this had a mother at one time.
If she has passed away, my prayer is that you have wonderful memories of her. If she’s still alive, give thanks to God that you had a mother to nurture you. Was she perfect? Of course not, but she was your mom.
There’s a reason one of the 10 Commandments includes “Honor Your Father And Mother”. It’s the only commandment with a promise, “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on earth”.
There’s a reason for that, as a respect for mom means that you respect tender authority and you’re willing to learn from your elders.
I sure did with mine.
Here is a TOP TEN list of my mom’s sayings that have stayed with me all of my 3 score+ of years. Hopefully some connect with you…
- “If I forced you to (wear/do) that, you’d never do it”-So many times, we do things, say things, wear things and even believe things simply because we’ve talked ourselves into it, thinking it is cool. But, if our parents told us to do those same things, we’d chafe at it. It’s sadly amazing what motivates us.
- “Remember, at one time that person was someone’s precious child”-one of the biggest reasons I never got hooked on pornography, or any other thing that degrades people is this admonition. In other words, everyone is created in God’s image, and has human dignity, no matter how hard people try to deny it. Look for it and restore it.
- “Who are you trying to impress?”-How many of our decisions, and even beliefs, are because we’re trying to impress someone? My mom taught me that it’s a losing game to impress people that don’t really care about you; rather work on pleasing God, who should really be your audience
- “There’s a reason it’s a classic”-fads of all types come and go. Music, books, beliefs, movies, etc. My mom stayed with the tried and true. Movies with Ronald Colman, Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, Charles Laughton, Classical music like Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, country artists like Jimmy Reeves and Buck Owens, and of course anything by Charles Dickens. Things that last are worth holding on t
- “What you are speaks so loud, I can’t hear what you’re saying”-talk is cheap; what is your character like. Mom had no toleration for politicians or preachers who said one thing and acted another.
- “Hollow barrels make the most noise”-in a similar vein, you don’t need to keep talking about something; just do it. She had no faith in couples that kept blabbing about how much they loved each other. “What are they covering up?” was here most common response?
- “Strangers are friends that you haven’t met yet”-Almost to an embarrassing point, mom was able to easily strike up conversations with anyone, from the bank teller to the person in line waiting to the plumber digging a hole in the city street. “You always have something to learn from everyone you meet”, so why not take advantage of the opportunity?
- “Maybe you’re just not good enough, and you need to work harder”-If I didn’t do well on a test, or didn’t do well playing a sport, there was no excuse making. It wasn’t them, the problem was me, so start working on it.
- “Beware of the Margellos pride”-Mom wisely saw the folly of pride; the proverb “Pride before destruction” was her motto, and she warned me constantly to act with humility before people.
- “Your character is determined by how you treat people that can do you absolutely no good”-how do you treat people who can’t pay you back, when no one (except God) is looking? That’s when you find out what you’re really made of, and what motivates you.
- BONUS—“If you can’t say anything nice about anyone, come sit next to me”-Mom also had her fun side, while still a devout Christian, she enjoyed digging the dirt (in a fun way) of course, and loved a good yarn. Ya gotta celebrate the foibles of life, right?