Tell Mama I’ll Be There

That’s the title of an old (1898) country song that I remember hearing my mama sing about her mama. And, that’s the song I sing about my mama. I'll be there, Mama!

“Tell mother I’ll be there, in answer to her prayer;
This message, blessed Savior, to her bear!
Tell mother I’ll be there, Heaven’s joys with her to share;
Yes, tell my darling mother I’ll be there."

I’m thinking about my darling mother today on her birthday (she’d be 108). Oh, what a precious mama she was to me. Everything I am, and hope to be, I owe to her example, her love, her abiding faith in God during some of life’s toughest times. She had unwavering love for my dad, my siblings and me. Mostly, it was the peace she exuded regardless of the pressures of life. If God were giving a motherhood test, she would have passed it with flying colors.

Honestly, the best of me came from her. If ever there was an angel on earth, it was her. She was my mentor, role model and everything a mother should be. She selflessly gave -- "Just give me the fried chicken neck -- that's good enough for me." She always forgave -- "It's okay. God forgives me all the time. I sure can forgive you." She unconditionally loved -- "It's okay that I don't hear much from your siblings (they lived in other states). I love and pray for them anyway." Her integrity and honesty were of the utmost importance to her. I'll never forget the day as a tiny tot that I saw a package of gum on the floor in the store and put it in my pocket. I reasoned that "if it's on the floor, it's okay to have it". When she found it in my pocket, she took me back to the store and I had to admit my wrong-doing. That incident and lesson stuck with me like glue. She gave me boundaries that worked -- "Let your conscience be your guide." And those words always rang in my ears when I was choosing right or wrong. She never missed a church service -- Wednesday night, Friday prayer meeting, women's meetings, Sunday School AND church -- twice each Sunday. She sacrificed her own personal needs for my needs. She showed me undaunted faith and determination in the toughest of times when my Daddy was so sick and when our finances were so meager. I heard her praying for me and my siblings from her bedroom. She was unquestionably the most tender, kind-hearted, loving, gentle, caring and pure woman I have ever known. She was my hero, and to this day, she remains my hero. Her example made me a better me.

The reason why I'm emphasizing her today to impress upon us to realize -- it's not the places we go or the things or treasures or inheritance or life insurance or jewelry -- the tangible things that make us. What makes us, and the legacy we leave to our children, are the things that money could never buy. Her influence on me caused me to be honest, to love and care passionately, to put my faith in God during the best and worst of times, to give and to suck it up when I've been hurt or offended, to trust in God's plans for my life and to leave my family with something so much more than the things that can be bought. I intend to leave them the very best of me......and the very best of me is my precious mother's example. What are those things that you'll leave to your children and grandchildren?
"Her children rise up, and call her blessed...." Proverbs 31:28
Happy Birthday, Mama! You can count on it! I’ll meet you over there!