Honor your mother — ‘You’re going to miss me one day’

Thomas W. Bonham is an associate minister with the Floresville Church of Christ. (twbonham@hotmail.com; ontheroadtoforever. blogspot.com.)

Three sons left home, went out on their own and prospered. Getting back together, they discussed the gifts they were able to give their elderly mother. The first said, “I built a big house for our mother.” The second said, “I sent her a Mercedes with a driver.” The third smiled and said, “I’ve got you both beat. You know how Mom enjoys the Bible, and you know she can’t see very well. I sent her a brown parrot that can recite the entire Bible. It took 20 monks in a monastery 12 years to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $100,000 a year for 10 years, but it was worth it. Mom just has to name the chapter and verse, and the parrot will recite it.”

Soon thereafter, Mom sent out her letters of thanks: * “Milton,” she wrote the first son, “The house you built is so huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house.” * “Marvin,” she wrote to another, “I am too old to travel. I stay home all the time, so I never use the Mercedes. And the driver is so rude!” * “Dearest Melvin,” she wrote to her third son, “You were the only son to have the good sense to know what your mother likes. That chicken was delicious.”

Jason had misbehaved, so his mother sent him to his room. A brief time later he came out and said to his mother, “I’ve been thinking about what I did, and I said a prayer.” His mother, pleased with his newfound attitude, encouraged his behavior. “That’s wonderful. If you ask God to make you good, I know He will help you.” With a grin on his face Jason said, “I didn’t ask God to help me be good — I asked Him to help you put up with me.”

There is simply no way we could ever really thank mother for all she has done for us. She is the one who will be awake all night when we are sick, praying to God to make us well, and be ever ready to bear the pain that we may be experiencing. She is the one to wake up early in the morning to prepare the nicest meals and endure all our tantrums. Mothers are the ones who would forever complain that we are not eating enough or not eating right. She did her best to nurture our bodies to grow strong and healthy.

My mother used to always josh us saying, “You’re going to miss me one of these days.” Of course, she was right, again. My mother was born blind in one eye and was legally blind in the other. The loss of her brother in World War II was her first real big storm in life and her strength took her through two years of college.

Never one to be defeated, my mother endeavored to enjoy life. She raised four children and a husband, whom she loved and depended on for her every need throughout her adult life. There were bumpy roads and times of turmoil as in any family, and although she found herself nearly deserted once in life, she never gave up. Her family wrestled with illnesses and cancers enough to go all around, but life went on with the support of a wonderful mother. She didn’t always have the answers to every situation, and always exhibited her reliance on the Lord for His guidance to bring her to the next day. Her favorite hymnal song was, “Have Thine Own Way” (Pollard/Stebbins).

Seeing the personal things found after her departure, I believe she prayed often for her children, for she clung to little items representing a mile-marker of independence for each child. Never one to stick her nose in the personal business of her adult children she was never far and always available when needed. Yea, I miss her.

[Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:1-3] “… Honor your father and mother … that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth.” The word honor means to show respect and reverence, even to hold in awe. What it means to us is that, no matter what our age, we are to hold our mothers in high esteem. The truth is, we honor God by honoring our mothers. My mother is gone on to be with her Lord and now sees Him with new eyes.