When the good Lord created mothers

Mothers are teachers. Mothers are disciplinarians. Mothers are cleaning ladies. Some mothers are gardeners and mowers of lawns. Other Mothers are expert bakers and window washers too. Mothers are nurses and doctors and psychologists and counselors and chauffeurs and coaches. Mothers are developers of personalities, molders of vocabularies, and shapers of attitudes. Mothers are soft voices saying, "I love you." Mothers are a child's first impression of God's love. Mothers are all of these things and much, much more.

Many years ago, Erma Bombeck, an American humorist and newspaper columnist, tells of God in the act of creating mothers. She says, "When the good Lord created mothers, He had already worked long overtime for the last six days. And an angel said to Him, "Lord, you sure are spending a lot of time fiddling around on this one." The Lord turned and replied, "Have you read the specs on this model? She is supposed to be completely washable, but not plastic. She is to have over 180 moving parts, and all of them are to be replaceable. She is to have a kiss that will heal everything from a broken leg to a broken heart, and she is supposed to be able to operate and function on leftovers. And she is supposed to have six pairs of hands." The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pair of hands? No way! That's impossible!" "It's not the six pairs of hands that bother Me." said the Lord, "It's the three pairs of eyes. She is supposed to have one pair that sees through closed doors so that whenever she says, `What are you kids doing in there?' she already knows what they're doing in there." "She has another pair in the back of her head to see all the things she is not supposed to see but must see. And then she has one pair right in front that can look at a child that has just goofed up and communicate love and understanding without saying a word."

"That's just too much." said the angel, "You can't put that much into one model." Without as much as uttering a word the Lord says, "I'm so close to creating someone like Myself. With this mother, I've already come up with a model that can heal herself when she is sick, who can feed a family of six with one pound of hamburger, and who can persuade a nine year old to take a shower."

Then the angel looked at the model of motherhood a little more closely and said, "She's too soft." "Oh, but she is tough," said the Lord. "You'd be surprised at how much this mother can do." "Can she think?" asked the angel. "Not only can she think," said the Lord, "but she can reason, compromise and persuade."

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her fingers across the face of the mother and touched its cheek. "This one has a leak," the angel exclaimed. "I told you that you couldn't put that much into one model." "That's not a leak," said the Lord. "That's a tear." "What's a tear for?" asked the angel. "Well it's for joy, for sadness, for sorrow, for disappointment, and for pride." "You're just a Genius," shouted the angel.

There is hope for mothers. Christ the creator of mothers understands like no one else, so mothers should not be afraid to take their sorrows and joys to Jesus. "In every grief, in every need, He will give comfort and help. Let mothers come to Jesus with their perplexities. They'll find grace sufficient to aid them in management of their children. The gates are open for every mother who would lay her burden at the Savior's feet. He, who said, 'Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not,' still invites the mothers to lead up their little ones to be blessed by Him. Even the babe in its mother's arms may dwell as under the shadow of the Almighty through the faith of the praying mother. Jesus knows the burden of every mother's heart. He who had a mother that struggled with poverty and privation sympathizes with every mother in her labors. He, who in His agony upon the cross remembered His own mother, is touched today by the mother's sorrow." Desire of Ages, p. 512

Being a mother is a very difficult job, but it is the most important one. I'm glad that God made mothers.

Prayer: Lord, help us never to be too busy for mom. If you could take time and great effort for her on the cross in your death, help us to love her while we have her in our life!

Happy Mother's Day!

Pastor Jim Nichols

Sidney Seventh-day Adventist Church