In honor of my mother's birthday tomorrow, I want to point out a few things that I have learned from her life. My mother and I are not a lot alike in personality. Many times I have wished to be more like her because she is a very in-control person and she is much more out-going than I am. People like her even when she is very blunt. (I, on the other hand, am not an especially likable personality.) I do not always agree with my mother (horrors!). But it's funny when I thought about these areas that I have not so much been taught by her but I have "caught" from her, because I see we are more alike than I would have thought. And I am proud of that.
1. Always buy it on sale!
My mother loves a good sale. It doesn't matter if the item is what she was looking for or not. If it has a number ending in 99, you have to get it! She would rather have a closet full of good buys than that one expensive thing--and so would I! (We know we would get tired of that expensive thing anyway--and miss the thrill of the sale!)
2. Work hard.
My mother graduated from high school and went to college at age 16 in an era when not that many girls went on to college. Not only that, but her family did not have money. She worked her way through Bryan College with jobs on campus and long summers back in Dallas. She taught school when I was younger and then always worked to help support our family. My mom can do anything!
3. Love your kids and your grandkids.
Mom used to hug my kids so hard that they complained about it! But they knew they were loved. She would have liked to have been at every football game and performance if she could have. She has continued that love to her great-grandkids now. She and my dad flew all the way around the world to visit my grandbaby for her first birthday in New Zealand. They rarely miss an event of their great-grandkids who live closeby. That is love!
4. God is good--even when life isn't.
Life has given my mom some monumental struggles. An alcoholic father who was not involved in her life. A handicapped child--No one who has not experienced that day to day can even fathom the difficulties and pain involved. The death of that adult child. Diabetes. Cancer, surgery, chemo. Heart surgery. Back surgeries. Any one of these would be enough to make someone give up. She has clung to the life that God gave her--knowing deep down that He is a good God who allows pain in an evil world and is there with her in the midst of it.
5. Laugh.
My mom has a laugh like no one else that I know. When she laughs hard, she wheezes. And she laughs a lot. When you look at what she has gone through, you realize that laughter is a gift of God to handle what life gives you. She can find the humor in any situation. Did I say, she LOVES to laugh? It is contagious when she does.
6. Pray.
I think in recent years, Mom has learned how to take everything to Him. She has seen many answers--and hopes to see many more.
7. Tell the truth.
My mother is a real person. Some might say she is blunt. She is authentic and she expects others to be transparent too. Sometimes the truth hurts. Many times I have not wanted her to tell me what I know is true--but oh, she's going too! She has seen through many a fake! She doesn't care what others think; they can accept her as she is or not at all.
8. Talk to people.
Mom is genuinely interested in people and meets new friends everywhere she goes. She reaches out to new people at her church. It doesn't matter to her what their background or age. She wants to KNOW them. That is a gift.
9. Keep going.
No matter what life has given her, she does not give up. She might not always feel like it, but she takes it a day at a time.
10. Hope.
The reason she can keep going is because she does not lose HOPE. She knows Who God is.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! I love you.
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