Tribute to Mom

When I think of my mother I think of someone who kissed Earth with strength and love from Heaven. She was an amazing woman with so many different faciets that made up her character. She was kind and gentle, yet forceful and blunt when needed. There was rarely a question about what she thought of someone or something because she was a person that was real and transparent. She was a simple person as she used to say, that loved life. One of the things that I valued the most in my mother was her deep and abiding faith in the Lord. She had experienced much of her young life as normal person knowing about God, but not knowing Him. Several years after my sister and I were born God took hold of her heart and life. There was a transformation that was true and genuine and from that time on she walked on a different path. She fell in love with Jesus! Life was not easy as a single mother, but I grew up hearing the wonderful stories of how God had blessed her and provided for us in asounding ways. She was very quick to give God praise for who He was and then to proclaim His goodness to whomever would listen. People who knew her well say that I am very much like her in my desire to quickly give God praise, I learned it from her. She was an awesome example of a person who fully trusted God, and knew from a long, deep relationship with Him that He never fails!

Mom loved people. She practiced hospitality often. I loved it how she never let it bother her that our house wasn't perfect, or that we didn't have just the right meal to serve but invited others to be part of our lives despite these things. People always felt at home in her house.

Some of the things she loved most were singing praises to the Lord. When we were young she would invite others from church over for nights of singing praises to the Lord. I remember going to bed listening to the adults singing into the wee hours of the morning. Everywhere we went we sang. She had a song for every cirucumstance. She loved music. Mom also loved being expresive in other ways. She loved to sew and create things. Quilting was a favorite because she loved the comparsion to the ways God takes different scraps of our lives and makes a master peice out of it.

One of my mom's favorite hobbies was being an amazing grandmother. I often marveled at her patience and love for each one of the kids. She adored them and they knew it. A day wouldn't go by that she wouldn't call to check on them or stop to see them. Every colored picture that they gave her she treasuered and made sure it made it to her refridgerator. She enjoyed teaching them games, how to cook and even how to sew. What she enjoyed teaching them the most was about the love of Jesus. She recently had a converstaion with our young seven year old about what to look for in a future wife. I overheard her saying, "First, and most important she must love Jesus." How precious to have a mother than knew the love of the Lord and allowed others to see it so clearly in all aspects of her life.

There are many things that I will miss terribly about my mom. She was my biggest encourager. She reminded me often of the Lord's faithfulness and the way he always does what is best. "He never gives us more than we can handle." Even in the pain of death...God is here and He is faithful. There is no greater friend that He. I am thankful for the verse, "But the love of the Lord remains forever with thsoe who fear him. His salvation extends to the children's children of those...who obey his comandments!!" Ps. 103:17-18 Thank you mom for teaching me about Jesus. I know that the Lord has blessed me as well as my children because of your influence and faithfulness. Thank you for being Christ to us here on Earth. I love you always and forever.